The Light of the World
by DatNookieThang
Summary: "Are you sleeping with my wife?" A Lyon and a SEAL go head-to-head, and it all started with a sheep. Ch. 5: Lucious has an incredible Valentine's Day planned, but not with his wife...who has quite a holiday of her own.
1. April's Fool

Note: In Episode 110 ("Die but Once"), Lucious is told that Malcolm put in for a "long weekend". In the United States, that would fall on a Thursday and end on a Sunday. Hence, the reference to Cookie having spent four days with Malcolm, not three.

Note #2: As the season two Empire midseason finale ended in May 2016, Bella's birth date is being used on that day. The story opens in April 2017, making Bella just shy of a year old.

\- Reference: " _...the two of them could at least talk like friends."_ \- Second chapter of **Simply** **Beautiful**.

* * *

During the week of Easter, Lucious Lyon left his wife Anika in New York City and flew to Jamaica to be with his one true love, who conveniently left her fiancée Angelo in New York as well. Between marathon sex sessions, Lucious and Cookie spent most of their time fighting, demanding that the other leave his or her significant other for good. Lucious refused to divorce Anika until Cookie called it off with Angelo, while Cookie refused to call it off with Angelo until Lucious produced divorce papers. Meanwhile, Cookie's wedding date was drawing nearer and nearer, and both ex-husband and ex-wife were miserable.

"You don't even love him!" Lucious shouted, as he had over and over again. "You're just trying to be what your father wanted you to be!"

"You don't love her!" Cookie screamed, hurling whatever was nearby at Lucious's head. "Why don't you divorce her since you love me so much, huh? Why don't you divorce that bougie bitch!?"

It was the same circular argument. Lucious had to keep up appearances, even though the FBI case against him had been dropped months ago. Then there was Bella to think about, or so Lucious claimed. "She would never just take off!" Cookie insisted. "She would never take Bella from us!"

"She's done it before!" Lucious fired back. "She would do whatever it takes to hurt this family!"

"She _is_ family, stupid! She's our granddaughter's mother! And she's your wife. Anika Lyon. You did that, remember! _You_ did that!"

"I never loved her! I love you, Cookie! You're the only woman I ever truly loved..."

They would shout at each other, and Cookie would cry, and Lucious would comfort her and turn her tears into sweat and her screams of pain into cries of pleasure. And then they would do it all over again, and again, and again.

It was sick and twisted and unfair to everybody involved. Angelo was a good man. A _loyal_ man. A man who had stood by Cookie when any other public figure would've avoided her like the plague. A man who, in just three weeks, would make Cookie the First Lady of New York City. He deserved so much better than what Cookie could ever give him. And Anika? The ghost who haunted the halls of the Lyon House of Horrors, rarely to seen or heard from by anyone? The shameful truth was that Anika was a non-factor in Lucious and Cookie's relationship, wife or no wife.

The first time Lucious and Cookie went on vacation together was Valentine's Day. Cookie paid Anika the respect of telling her that they were going to Jamaica before she heard it from somebody else. She apologized over and over, but Anika brushed the whole thing off. "Best Valentine's date he could give me," she replied when she recovered from her shock. "Have fun, Cookie."

This last time, Cookie didn't even bother, largely because she knew Anika didn't care. Every vacation with Lucious was the same: fighting and fucking, yet Cookie couldn't tear herself away from it. How ironic, Cookie thought, that a woman who sold drugs to her community and gave pills to her drug-addicted son was now fighting an addiction of her own. Loving Lucious made Cookie high. Without him, Cookie was dope sick, and Lucious was the only cure.

* * *

 _Dope sick_ was the only way to describe Cookie's mood when she dragged herself into the Empire office first thing Saturday morning; the two of them hadn't even made it to the weekend this time. The morning meeting was Lucious's way of making everything look normal, as Lucious had returned to New York the night before. earlier. Of course, such a performance fooled no one.

Sitting on the other side of Lucious's desk as Cookie came through the door was Malcolm DeVeaux, Empire's current (and former) head of security. If Lucious was Cookie's first love and Angelo was her destiny, Malcolm was The One Who Got Away. He was the wild card, the question mark, the one that could've been Angelo had Cookie let him be.

Cookie reached out to Malcolm after Lucious had to admit that Empire's security problems could only be brought under control by the best of the best. Malcolm responded to Cookie's employment offer by reaching out to Lucious, not to her, and any chance of recreating their Berkshires magic disappeared within five seconds of their reunion. "Madam First Lady," Malcolm greeted Cookie on his first day back at Empire, referring to Cookie's pending nuptials to the new New York mayor. There was such a coolness behind it, as if Malcolm could take her or leave her. It stung a little.

"Mom!" Jamal, along with Hakeem, Andre, Lucious and Malcolm all stood up respectfully when Cookie entered the room. After the Lyon brothers all greeted their mother, Jamal went on excitedly. "Did Malcolm tell you that he's getting an award tomorrow night?"

"Not yet," Malcolm said. "She knows it now, though."

"Aw, man...sorry, Malcolm," Jamal said apologetically. "Since it's coming from WOKE, I figured that Mom already knew about it."

"Really?" Cookie wasn't surprised that Malcolm hadn't said anything. The man was humble to a point of fault. Lucious would've had the news on the front page of the Empire blog. "What's it for?" Cookie asked.

"Mental health," Malcolm replied, as reticent as usual.

"It's for the work he's been doing for WOKE with PTSD and war vets," Jamal supplied. "Malcolm didn't even tell us about it until last night, and he's known about it for months. Angelo's going to be the presenter."

"He is?" Angelo hadn't mentioned it to Cookie. Why wouldn't he invite Cookie to the ceremony if an Empire employee was getting such a prestigious award? Malcolm had been doing volunteer work for WOKE for going on four months now, and Cookie knew that Angelo and Malcolm were tight.

"I'm surprised you didn't know, Ma," Hakeem said. "Angelo said he was planning to take you to the ceremony."

Cookie had ignored Angelo's calls all weekend. "Well, congratulations, Malcolm," Cookie said, stepping forward to give him a friendly hug and kiss. "You definitely deserve it."

"Thank you, Cookie," Malcolm stopped Cookie in her tracks when he stuck out his hand. God, Cookie _hated_ the way Malcolm spoke to her now. It was so formal and courteous, so dry. Even before they had their brief fling, the two of them could at least talk like friends. Now, they were just co-workers, boss and employee, nothing more. All Cookie could do was shake Malcolm's hand and step right back, ignoring the smirk on Lucious's face.

"You planning on celebrating?" Lucious asked. He hadn't congratulated Malcolm, nor did Cookie or Malcolm expect him to. Malcolm had been sitting and talking with Lucious for well over an hour, and not once did he mention that he was being honored with a citywide award.

"Your sons took me for a night on the town, trust me." Malcolm gave Jamal a friendly punch and ducked a playful uppercut in return. "Sometimes I forget how old I am."

"Please." Andre shook his head. "You practically carried me home, old man."

Much to Lucious's aggravation, Malcolm had become tight with all of Lucious's sons. Andre, along with Anika, had helped Malcolm study for the GRE exam in hopes of getting into graduate school for months. Jamal volunteered with Malcolm at WOKE, bouncing ideas about PTSD and other mental health issues with each other. Most troubling were the times Lucious found Hakeem talking to Malcolm about things that Lucious wasn't privy to because Hakeem never talked to Lucious about anything except music. It was almost like Hakeem had accepted Malcolm as his father, while Lucious was little more than his business manager.

"You should do something nice for Anika, too," Cookie recommended slyly. "Since the two of you spent so much time studying together."

Cookie enjoyed the scowl that came across Lucious's face. "I am," Malcolm said. "I was going to ask Anika to be my guest at the banquet tomorrow. Plus there's a French film festival that's at the Lincoln Center tonight. I was going to ask the two of you if you could babysit for us that day, maybe for the weekend?"

It was like the oxygen had gone out of the room, and Cookie's stomach began to churn. She'd seen this coming for a long time, but she never thought it would come together like this. "You're asking me if you can take my wife out on a date?" Lucious asked incredulously.

"No," Malcolm clarified. "I'm telling you that I'm taking your wife out on a date. I'm asking you if you could babysit if she says yes."

Any minute now, Cookie and Lucious knew that Malcolm would tell Lucious that he was only joking and they could go back to talking about Malcolm's award or his upcoming GRE test date or get a briefing on security while the two of them were away. Or maybe some cameramen were going to jump out of the walls and tell them all to smile. None of those things happened. Rather, Malcolm just sat in his chair as if he was actually expecting an answer to the babysitting question.

When Cookie didn't give one, Lucious did. _"Nigga, are you outcho fuckin' mind?!"_

Malcolm shrugged. "Is that a no?" he asked politely.

The tension in the room was nearly tangible, with Lucious's growing fury colliding like a freight train against Malcolm's calm. "You know, Malcolm," Lucious said as he stood up slowly, "I didn't say anything when you were going into the nursery every night to read to Bella. And I didn't say anything when your dumb ass needed help on that test to get into college. I didn't even say anything on New Year's when you went hiding in my baby girl's nursery 'cause the fireworks gave you war flashbacks or whatever the hell that was-"

"Dad," Andre cut in as Malcolm's eyes narrowed. "That's not cool."

"-but you seem to think that you're my wife's boyfriend or something," Lucious went on, as if his oldest son hadn't said anything. "Are you sleeping with my wife?"

Malcolm didn't blink. "Yes."

That threw Lucious off again. He'd often amused himself with the idea of Malcolm torturing himself trying to stay away from Anika, or maybe sleeping with her and denying it. He wasn't expecting such unapologetic honesty. "When was the last time you slept with her?"

Malcolm checked his watch. "Two hours ago," he answered.

Jesus Christ! Cookie thought. "You bored with her yet?" Lucious asked insolently.

"Not at all," Malcolm replied pleasantly. "She keeps me quite...entertained." Then Malcolm cracked a rare smile that said everything without saying anything at all. Lucious didn't miss it. "Is Anika more entertaining than Cookie was?" he pressed.

"Wait a minute!" Hakeem gestured between Malcolm and Cookie. " _You two_ were fucking?"

"Watch your mouth," Malcolm and Lucious said simultaneously.

"What, Malcolm didn't tell y'all over drinks, Hakeem?" Lucious went on. "Your boy Malcolm had your mama all up in the mountains for four days." He threw Cookie an angry look. "I dunno, maybe they was playing chess all that time. But she sure as hell came skipping back in the building talking shit. Like she got her back blown out."

"Okay, stop it." Andre moved in closer to the desk, though he wasn't sure who was going to hold back – Lucious or Malcolm. Lucious was his father, but Andre didn't have any faith in Jamal and Hakeem to hold Malcolm back should things get any worse.

"No, really!" Lucious said in a faux-friendly manner. "You wanna stand here and test nuts and talk like you got the big dick, Malcolm? Fine, so tell me who's better? Cookie or Anika?"

"Lucious, you can't be serious." It was supposed to be a respectful answer, but the way Malcolm's eyes flicked over to Cookie, looked her up and down, and then dismissed her without a second glance felt like a slap to the face.

"Okay, y'all ain't about to talk up my dress," Cookie warned. "Don't put me in this." Cookie felt the blood rush to her head. Wasn't this the same simp who asked her to move with him to D.C. the minute they got back to New York? I know Boo Boo Kitty ain't got it like that, Cookie thought angrily. There was no way that her bougie debutante ass could throw down like Cookie could. Why else would Lucious cheat on Anika time and time again?

"What?" Lucious said playfully. He was having a high time making both of them uncomfortable. "I'm just wondering if Malcolm enjoys my wife more than he enjoyed my ex-wife. That's all."

"I suspect I enjoy being with your wife as much as you enjoy being with your ex-wife. By the way," Malcolm continued as he stood, "how did the two of you enjoy Jamaica?"

Cookie's heart began to race. "What the hell are you talking about?" Lucious asked slowly.

"I'm talking about the vacation you and Cookie just came from." Malcolm's voice was measured, but tight. "The one where my security team is working like crazy to keep pictures of your titties and Cookie's naked ass from spreading all over the internet."

"Again!?" Hakeem and Jamal blurted at the same time, while Andre looked more than a little uncomfortable.

"Yeah, again. And because Angelo is my friend, I have to bust my ass to make sure he never sees them. Remember Angelo, Cookie?" Malcolm went on. "Your fiancée? So don't come preaching to me about sleeping with a married woman, Cookie, especially not a woman in this fake-ass marriage. Not only did you screw Angelo, you screwed me, too!"

"Wouldn't be the first time Cookie screwed you," Lucious pointed out.

Cookie felt her way to a chair, which Hakeem helped her into. Pictures. Again. This time with another man. Angelo...oh, my God. She was less than a month of being First Lady of New York City. It was one thing to have a topless picture leaked by a hacker – that made Cookie a sympathetic figure. But pictures of her naked and frolicking in Jamaica with her ex-husband? There was no recovering from that.

"If you're protecting my fake-ass marriage, then why are you trying to take my wife out?" Lucious wanted to know.

"Because if you're not going to respect your fake-ass marriage, why should I?" Malcolm asked. "You get to take Cookie out of the country, but you're pissed at the idea of me taking Anika to a film festival?"

"A film festival is one thing," Cookie pointed out weakly. "You're talking about taking her to an award ceremony with press and cameras."

Malcolm shot Cookie a look as if he didn't know if he wanted to reason with her or throw her down a flight of stairs. "Anika is my lady now," Malcolm informed Lucious curtly. "You can keep your fake-ass marriage on paper, Lucious, but it's over between you two."

"Oh, God. Here you go again," Lucious groaned, his voice cruel and mocking. "Chasing after one of my wives. You gonna ask her to move with you to D.C. next?"

"D.C.?" Andre asked. He looked over at Cookie, whose head was now on Lucious's desk as she fought back tears. "What are you talking about, Dad?"

"Didn't I say keep me out of this?" That weekend Cookie had with Malcolm was a pleasant memory, something pure and wonderful with no ulterior motive behind it. Even now, she could think about their time in the Berkshires and smile. Now Lucious was about to ruin that time in her life, just like he ruined everything with such ease. Dope sick? Cookie just felt sick.

"Jesus Christ, Lucious..." Malcolm muttered, running a hand through his hair. "That was a million years ago. Hell, you've picked up a wife and a grandchild since then. Cookie is engaged to be married...why are you bringing all this up?"

"How long have you been sleeping with my wife?" Lucious demanded to know for a second time.

"Well, let's see now." Malcolm was starting to sound like Lucious, and Cookie didn't like it. "We first got down when you two went off for Valentine's Day...that's what, about two months?"

Cookie nearly fainted. How in the world had they missed all this? "Is that why Anika moved into the guest house?" Andre added. Like Hakeem and Jamal, he was still stuck on the fact that Malcolm had the nerve to ask Anika out on a date. He hadn't even digested the sex part yet.

Malcolm shook his head. "Anika moved into the guest house because she didn't want to be around Lucious anymore, not that I could blame her. That didn't have anything to do with me."

"So wait," Lucious interrupted. "You been fucking my wife in the nursery? You been pulling out your dick out where my granddaughter sleeps?"

Malcolm pretended to think it over. "It's a four-room suite. Define 'nursery."

Rushing from around his desk, Lucious shoved Andre to the side, then cocked his fist back and landed a punch to Malcolm's jaw so hard that Malcolm's neck cracked as he spun around and hit the ground."Lucious!" Cookie screamed, but Malcolm just laughed as he got back to his feet - not very quickly, Cookie noted. "You hit like a bitch, Lucious," Malcolm laughed, and he spat a mouth full of blood and spit right onto Lucious's $96,000 carpet. "Why are you so pissed off anyway? Isn't this what you wanted?"

"The fuck you mean, isn't that what I wanted?" Lucious demanded. Everyone else in the room was equally confused. What was Malcolm getting at?

Malcolm leaned against the back of Lucious's chair; the punch had rocked him far more than Malcolm wanted to let on. "Cut the bullshit, Lucious. This was your plan all along, wasn't it? To be nice to your sad little wife with the low self-esteem until she got lonely enough to get with me while you ran around after Cookie?"

"I said _keep me out of this!"_ Cookie couldn't stand here them talk about her this way, even though Cookie knew that Malcolm was speaking nothing but truth.

Malcolm ignored Cookie, as did Lucious. "And when that didn't happen fast enough for you, you _left the goddamned country_. You left Anika alone on Valentine's Day with me-"

"Is that the first time you fucked her?" Lucious demanded.

"Lucious," Cookie interrupted, her voice shaking.

"You were never going to stop until I slept with that damned girl!" Malcolm's voice was uncharacteristically beginning to rise. "You got what you wanted! And now you wanna square up with me because I want to take her out?"

"I pay you to fuck my wife, not to be her BFF!" Lucious shouted.

"Lucious, that's enough!"

"What do you care if I fuck your wife or not?" Malcolm yelled back. "You can't stand her anyway!"

" _Malcolm!"_ Cookie rushed forward and grabbed Malcolm's arm. "Malcolm, stop! _Stop_ _!"_

 ** _"Get off me, Cookie!"_** Malcolm whipped around in Cookie's direction, knocking her arm away. He was sick of Cookie enabling Lucious, of Cookie leading Angelo on, of spending all weekend having to suppress Cookie's pictures when he could have been spending time with Anika. Malcolm was sick of having to be the better man all the time. Most of all, Malcolm was sick to death of Cookie Lyon, even more than he was sick of Lucious.

But before Malcolm could unleash his wrath on Cookie, he found the source of her anguish. Standing in the doorway, ghostlike as always, was Anika. Even Hakeem hadn't noticed her there, and she had been standing right next to her child's father. "Anika..." Malcolm said, stunned, but he couldn't say anything more. Everyone in the room was frozen solid, even Lucious. It was as if they were giving Anika the first word.

"You slept with Cookie?" Anika finally said, barely able to speak. After everything nasty thing she'd heard Lucious and Malcolm say, that was the first question she came up with. It was one Malcolm wasn't prepared to answer.

"Anika," Cookie tried. "Anika, it was just one-"

"I'm not talking to you." Anika's eyes never left Malcolm.

 _It didn't mean anything!_ Cookie wanted to cry out, though her lips couldn't form that lie. Meanwhile, Lucious was grinning like the Cheshire cat. He'd found his mark, and he hit it flawlessly. "Did you sleep with Cookie, Malcolm?" Anika asked Malcolm again, her voice cracking. Still, Malcolm wouldn't answer.

"It was after you went to suck Beretti off, Anika," Lucious offered helpfully. "But before you fucked Mimi Whiteman to try to take my company." Now Anika was the one whose eyes grew wide as Malcolm's face registered shock. "Just so you know, Malcolm, your girl likes them girls. Man, wait until you see her with her face between a bitch's legs-"

Cookie stepped forward and backhanded Lucious across the face, finally rendering him silent. No matter what their history was, watching Anika growing smaller and smaller under Lucious's gaze broke Cookie's heart. This was their grandchild's mother, for crying out loud. Why did Lucious _always_ have to do this? The Christmas singalong...the New Year's party...Valentine's Day...now this. Cookie knew that Lucious didn't love Anika, nor did Anika love Lucious. Why did he have to tear her down so?

"Anika," Malcolm tried again, reaching for her hand. "Please, can we go somewhere and-"

Anika broke Malcolm's grasp and shoved him away. "Leave me alone! _Leave me alone!"_ Anika fled the room, not able to take the hurt look in Malcolm's eyes as she ran away from him. _"Leave me alone!"_ she screamed over and over, and her sobs echoed through the hallway as she ran to the nursery. When Anika finally reached the sanctuary of the nursery, she slammed the door behind her and pressed her hands to her mouth, trying to suppress a scream. _I thought he liked me..._

"Miss Anika!" Juanita exclaimed as she rushed around the corner with Bella. "What's wrong, child? Are you okay?"

"Please, Juanita. I'm fine. Just-just go. Please." Anika took Bella from Juanita's arms, holding her close and using the baby's body to hide her face. She made it to the rocking chair before she broke down. Soon, the high-pitched wails of her daughter matched her own. "I thought he liked me," Anika whispered in Bella's ear, utterly defeated. _And to think,_ she thought miserably, staring at a beautiful framed sketch on the wall, _this all started with a sheep._

* * *

In the beginning, Lucious was thrilled to have Malcolm back, especially when Malcolm found four additional bugs in less than an hour after the initial home sweep. "Don't get rid of them," he advised Lucious. "Feed them a bunch of nonsense. Set your brother up with a sting and he'll get off your back."

In gratitude, Lucious offered Malcolm even more money to do security at the Lyon mansion, along with a bonus. In exchange for Malcolm holding it down at the Lyon compound, Lucious offered Malcolm a place to stay at his mansion, rent-free. "I'll give you the entire east or west wing. Bella's in the north wing." _And so is her mother,_ Lucious added silently.

As far as Lucious was concerned, the setup was perfect. Anika was lonely and thirsty, while Malcolm was probably still on his Super-Save-a-Ho swag. In no time, Anika would be out of his way, Malcolm would have a prime piece of ass, and Lucious could go back to the future Mrs. Angelo DuBois, who was starting to weaken again. All Malcolm had to do was keep the security system and cameras up and running in the basement hub and patrol the place at least once a night.

But Lucious's plans had a major flaw. Anika spent most of her time holed up in the nursery, and the four-room layout doubled as Anika's primary living space. Anything needed for Bella was delivered. All the shopping was done by the servants. Even something as simple as a morning run took place on an outdoor track built on the property. Anika never left the mansion, and no one ever came to see her. It was if she went through great lengths to not be seen.

It would be over a month before Malcolm and Anika interacted, and it was purely by happenstance. One of Anika's favorite children's books was The Little Prince. Bella seemed to be enchanted by the pictures, and the sound of her mother's soothing voice seemed to calm Bella, who would drift off to sleep as Anika read to her in French. [Thus you can imagine my amazement, at sunrise,] Anika read as Bella settled comfortably in her mother's arms one night, [when I was awakened by an odd little voice. It said: _if you please_ -]

[- _draw me a sheep!_ ] a male's voice chimed in.

Anika looked up, and so did Bella. "What?" Anika said, startled.

Malcolm smiled. "Draw me a sheep!" he repeated in English. His smile faded when Anika said nothing. "Sorry," he said, feeling foolish. "The Little Prince was one of my favorite books as a kid."

Was Malcolm being serious, or was this his way of making fun of her? "Mine, too. I cry at the end, every single time, even though I know how it ends," Anika admitted. "I don't know why, but I just do. The ending is so sad."

Malcolm leaned against the doorway. "Is this your first time reading it in French? It's not quite the same."

"I'm starting to see that. Come in," Anika invited, not expecting Malcolm to actually do so. Hardly anybody came into the nursery, and virtually nobody passed into the second doorway, past the crib and into the sitting foyer. "Where did you learn to speak French?"

"I was born and raised in Martinique. It's the official language. You?"

"Boarding school. I lived in Sweden, and we had to take four years of a foreign language. English didn't count. Neither did Swedish. So I took French. I understand it, but I haven't spoken it in years. You can tell, can't you?" she asked when Malcolm's lips curved upwards.

Malcolm didn't have the heart to tell Anika that her French sounded like Swedish. "It'll get easier once you get used to it again. Here." Getting comfortable on the floor, Malcolm took the book from Anika, who was grateful to give her arms a chance to relax and just cuddle with her baby. Anika's French speaking was decent for a non-native, but the words and phrases around Malcolm's tongue were smooth as silk, and Bella fell asleep within minutes.

After that, Bella preferred Malcolm's reading voice to hers, and she would whimper and cry and fidget when Anika tried to read to her in French _or_ English. "Probably because you're a native speaker," Anika commented. "Or maybe my baby has her first crush," she added teasingly. Malcolm gave an embarrassed grin, but he rarely missed a night reading to Bella, and Anika found herself missing him when he did. While Bella slept, Anika and Malcolm had spirited conversations about the snake and the fox, the rose and the glass and the grown-ups and if there really was a sheep in that box or not.

Anika dreaded getting to the last two chapters of the story, but in Malcolm's voice and Malcolm's native tongue, the words actually seemed more magical and held more hope. That night, the two of them discussed the true fate of the little prince over chips, salsa and Cherry Cokes until they dozed off together. It was the first time Malcolm fell asleep in the nursery, but it wouldn't be the last. When Malcolm mentioned that he was studying for the Graduate Record Exam in February, Anika offered to help him study. Malcolm was fairly strong in Quantitative Reasoning - with some lunchtime tutoring from Andre, it would be his strongest section by far - and being bilingual gave Malcolm an advantage in the Verbal Reasoning section. But Malcolm struggled with Analytical Writing, which was where Anika's assistance came in. "You're overthinking things," she would chide him night after night. "Try to whittle your thoughts down to the most basic ideas."

For weeks, Anika and Malcolm worked on untangling and streamlining Malcolm's thoughts until he could express himself in a much more linear fashion in both English and French. Over time, Anika's French improved tremendously and Malcolm's writing began to become as strong as his math and verbal skills. Anika had mentally prepared herself with a battle with Lucious over Malcolm spending so much time alone with her, but it never happened. Malcolm's presence became so common in the nursery at night that even Lucious didn't bat an eye if he came in and found Malcolm changing Bella or rocking her to sleep. For the first time since moving back into the mansion – hell, since she'd _ever_ lived in the mansion, period – Anika had one thing she'd never had before: a friend.

Every month, the Lyons celebrated Bella's life as extravagantly as birthdays, and her five-month celebration happened two days after Malcolm and Anika finished reading the French children's classic. Malcolm stopped by with a present for Bella, unaware that the entire Lyon family would be in the nursery at around the time Anika would normally be putting Bella to bed. "It's beautiful!" Anika breathed as she unrolled the picture. "I'm going to have it framed first thing in the morning."

Hakeem frowned at the plain black-and-white pencil sketch in Anika's hands. "What is it?" he asked.

Anika blinked back her tears. "It's a sheep," she explained.

Lucious looked over Anika's shoulder. "Just looks like a box to me," he said dubiously.

"The sheep is inside the box," Malcolm and Anika said together. As the men in the room exchanged looks and shrugged their shoulders, Cookie took note of the look Malcolm and Anika shared. It stung. It stung a _lot_.

* * *

Before Malcolm could run after Anika, Hakeem stepped forward and blocked the doorway. "I got this, man," he assured Malcolm. "I got this." It was easy for Hakeem to follow Anika, who was hurling and smashing everything she could get her hands on, her sobs echoing through the halls.

Sitting in his desk chair, smugly taking in the chaos that just ensued, was a triumphant Lucious. "I guess you don't need a babysitter after all, do you?" he asked glibly.

In a flash, Malcolm flew over Lucious's desk – not around it, _over_ it – and tackled Lucious to the ground. Malcolm put Lucious in a full mount, purposely cutting off Lucious's oxygen supply very slowly as he grabbed Lucious by his hair with both hands and repeatedly slammed Lucious's head into the ground. "You won't be happy-" _Wham!_ "Until everybody-" _Wham!_ "In this house-" Wham! "Is as miserable-" _Wham!_ "As you!" _Wham-wham-wham!_

Andre and Jamal finally dragged a furious Malcolm away from Lucious while Lucious's eyes slowly rolled to the back of his head, then closed. "Say something now, motherfucker!" Malcolm raged, breaking away from Lucious's sons and rising to his knees to lunge at Lucious again. _"Say something now, you son of a bitch!"_

 _Click._

The cool feel of steel was pressed against the back of Malcolm's head. "If you don't get up right now," Cookie promised, "I'ma end your black ass right here and now." She patted Malcolm on the jaw with the pistol, none too lightly. "Now _get up."_

It was Malcolm's job to study things. The glass curio cabinet gave him a clear view of Cookie's reflection. Cookie's gaze was steely, her hand steady. "How many years will you get for that, Cookie?" Malcolm asked coolly. "20 years? 50? Life? You think Lucious will wait for you like he did last time?"

Cookie ignored him. "I said _get your punk ass up!"_

"Mom," Jamal begged, trying to appeal to her sanity. "Mom, please..."

"Put the gun down..." Andre pleaded, just as terrified as his younger brother. "He's not worth it. Mom, _please_."

From time to time, Malcolm could be rash, even irresponsible. But Malcolm was no fool. He knew that love was a much stronger motivator than anything else he could think of. Slowly, with both hands raised, Malcolm rose to his feet and met Cookie's eyes in the glass in front of him. "Never thought I'd see the day Cookie Lyon would be content with being a side chick," he said coldly, but Malcolm didn't lower his hands.

"And I never thought I'd see the day that Malcolm DeVeaux would be Lucious Lyon's bitch." Cookie stood in front of Malcolm and pressed the barrel of the pistol directly against his temple. "You're only with Anika because Lucious made it that way. Remember that when you're fucking that dirty bitch." Cookie shoved the gun against Malcolm's head so hard that he stumbled a bit. "Now go see your ho... _ho,"_ Cookie ordered him.

Malcolm's smile spread across his face grudgingly. "Madam First Lady," he said sarcastically. He bowed slightly at the waist, then left the room, making a show of stepping over Lucious's body on the way out the door.

"Dad! Dad!" Andre rushed over to join Jamal and his father, who was slowly coming to. Just then, Malcolm stuck his head back in the doorway. "Hey, about that babysitting thing-"

"Get out!" Andre stood up and charged towards the door. "Get the fuck out of here! In fact, get off of the property!"

"Blow me, Andre." Malcolm strolled out of the office and down the hall as if he didn't have a care in the world. What was Lucious going to do – fire him? Call the police? No one else in the world could prevent those vacation pictures from leaking at this point except Malcolm and his crew. As angry as Lucious was - or would be when he finally came back to the land of the living - Malcolm knew that Lucious wasn't going to do anything to him. He loved Cookie too much to risk pissing Malcolm off.

And while he might have been out of his damn mind, Cookie had to give it to Malcolm for standing up for Anika, just as Lucious would've done for her. It was hard to explain, but Cookie felt almost _proud_ of Anika. Not only had she moved on – something that Cookie had yet to do in regards to Lucious – but she had done so with a wonderful man who Cookie knew would treat Anika like gold. What Malcolm saw in Anika, Cookie had no idea whatsoever. But couldn't the same thing be said for Cookie and Lucious?

 _Oh, yeah. Lucious._ Cookie turned and looked down at Lucious, who hadn't bothered to get up off the floor. He felt like his skull had been smashed in two, and he was still seeing two of everything. Besides, Cookie had seen him in far worse shape. Why front? "Go get some ice," Cookie ordered her sons, and they rushed off to do their biding.

When their eyes connected, Lucious smiled up at her. "Still ride or die," he admired. It didn't matter if Lucious was right about the whole Anika and Malcolm thing or not. Cookie was going to have his back, and Lucious was going to have hers. That was just the way it was, and that was the way it always would be.

Cookie knelt down and stroked Lucious's hair lovingly. "I told you to let that perm go," she said, running her hands through what was left of Lucious's hair. "You alright, baby?" she asked, taking two bags of ice and a towel from Jamal and Andre before dismissing them for good.

"Mmm...that feels good," Lucious said. Cookie smiled as she iced his forehead, then the tip of his nose, then his lips and finally warmed them all with her kisses. Lucious put one hand around Cookie's hips and brought her down for a real kiss. Cookie, despite everything that had happened, joined Lucious on the floor, putting her head on his chest. "I cracked his ass good, didn't I?" he asked Cookie.

Cookie laughed. "You still got it, old head." Despite Malcolm's posturing, Cookie could see Malcolm rubbing his jaw on the way out the door, and she smiled at the memory of Malcolm's split lip and mouth filled with blood as he struggled to get back to his feet. "I bet he won't be smiling at any damn ceremony tomorrow."

The ceremony. Angelo. Those vacation pictures. _Damn it._

Cookie knew she needed to call Angelo back as soon as possible. She needed to make sure that everything was okay and that Angelo hadn't seen those vacation pictures, and was she going to be his date tomorrow or not? But even with all of that over her head, Cookie didn't move from Lucious's side. These were the moments Cookie lived for - lying with her head on Lucious's chest, stroking his hair, kissing his lips, straddling his lap as she pulled her up to her waist and unbuckled Lucious's belt. Cookie loved this man. She needed this man. The sickness, the withdrawal, the cruel reality of their situation and the inevitable fall to earth – all of that could wait. For now, Cookie was high again.


	2. A Mellow Merry Christmas

Summary: Peace on earth? Goodwill to men? Not during an Empire Christmas!

Notes:  
 _\- "...just as she'd done the day Malcolm walked out of her life."_ Second chapter of **Sacrifice**.

* * *

Malcolm had no intentions of leaving the Lyon property – he lived there, after all, in the east wing - but he wasn't really sure where to go. Going to see Anika was out for now. Bella primarily spent the daytime in the Lyon home, but she lived with Anika in the guest house in the evenings. After running five miles, doing yoga for half an hour, showering, shaving and eating some lunch, Malcolm couldn't take it anymore. He had to go and see Anika, even if it was for no other reason than for her to tell him to go to Hell.

On the way to the nursery, Malcolm passed by Lucious's office just as Cookie was coming out, face flushed, hair tousled and hiding a smile. That smile faded when their eyes caught. "Malcolm..." Cookie began, clearly embarrassed.

"How's Lucious?" It was the closest thing Malcolm came to giving an apology. He felt nothing towards Lucious, but there was something about Cookie that Malcolm didn't want to upset or disturb.

"He's fine." Behind closed doors, Lucious had to acquiesce the fact that he had it coming. It wasn't just about today, but the many, many, _many_ episodes that Malcolm allowed to slide before he finally exploded. "I don't even think he's going to fire you. He didn't mention it."

"Yeah, and I'm sure that has nothing to do with those pictures of yours." When Cookie's face fell, Malcolm lifted her chin. "Don't worry," he assured her. "I would never do that to you, no matter how much you get on my nerves."

Cookie took Malcolm's hand, tucked her face inward and kissed his palm, just as she'd done the day Malcolm walked out of her life. "Go see your lady," Cookie said kindly, stroking his clean-shaven cheek.

Malcolm took the back of Cookie's hand and kissed it. "Go tend to your man." It didn't do any good for Malcolm to stay angry with Cookie, nor did it make any sense for Cookie to stay mad at Malcolm. Not now, anyway. Both of them knew that for now, it was best to conserve their rage.

Hakeem was relaxing in the kitchen when Malcolm walked by. _What the –_ "Hakeem! Did you talk to Anika?" Malcolm asked.

"Huh? Oh, yeah."

How long had Hakeem been sitting there? Why hadn't he called Malcolm or shot him a text? "Well!? What did you say to her?"

"I told Anika the truth, man. I said you was a good dude, that you'd never hurt her, how you always have her back, like at the Christmas party, and how she should hear you out."

 _Ugh, that damned Christmas party._ "Did Anika say anything?" Malcolm pressed. "Is she still mad at me?"

"Not really. She just said she wanted to be left alone for a while."

"And how long ago was that?" Malcolm asked, his patience running out.

"Coupla hours ago."

"Thanks, Hakeem," Malcolm called over his shoulder as he dashed down the hall to the nursery. Malcolm could've knocked his teeth out, but what good would it do to get mad at such a simpleton? At least Anika wasn't too mad at him. Then again, she might have been, since Hakeem had mention that godforsaken Christmas singalong. All Malcolm could do was pray that Anika didn't hold such lousy memories against him.

* * *

"A _singalong?!"_ Lucious asked the first week of December. "What kind of corny shit is that? This is Antonio's doing, isn't it?"

"You know good and hell well that man's name is Angelo," Cookie said, flipping through Lucious's mail as if she lived with Anika and him. "I can't stand the idea of another big Empire Christmas concert, that's all. Can't we roll it in with the New Year's party and have something a little quieter, more intimate?"

"You just want your man to show his voice off in front of a bunch of people." If Lucious heard about Angelo's musical theater background one more time, he would vomit.

"What if I do?" Cookie smirked. "Angelo on piano, you on guitar. You know Jamal is the director of Angelo's choir. You can't have him working with them and playing piano and performing all in one night, and then expect him to perform on New Year's Eve."

"Choir, choir, choir...you talkin' about those tone-deaf kids who came in singing that stupid French song?" Lucious rolled his eyes. "I don't even think Jamal could make them sound any good."

"Whatever, stupid." Cookie shoved Lucious good-naturedly, ducking his attempt to kiss her on the cheek. "Anika, what do you think?" Cookie asked as Anika entered the dining room with Bella in her arms. "Don't you think a small Christmas party is a lot better than two big-ass concerts back-to-back?"

Cookie was making a statement, not asking a question, but Anika agreed. It was bad enough that the New Year's party would bring in hundreds of people. Doing it back-to-back within seven days had always been exhausting, and Anika was happy to try something new. "I think it's a great idea. Not everybody gets to host an intimate party with New York's mayor-elect, Lucious," Anika pointed out. "It's a great look for Empire, too. Empire, WOKE, all of us."

Anika had little desire to actually attend the singalong, but it would be hard to explain why the wife of Empire's co-CEO wasn't there, especially since Lucious insisted that Bella be there to celebrate her first Christmas with the Lyon family. "Are you serious?" Anika asked. The only thing Bella celebrated was being able to roll over on her stomach.

"Not all night. Just long enough for her to meet everybody, that's all," Lucious persuaded Anika with cat-by-the-canary-cage smile that used to make Anika lightheaded but now just made her ill.

For once, Lucious was true to his word. Bella was passed around long enough to take pictures and for Lucious to remind anyone who would listen that his wife Anika had had a child with a man she'd practically raised from his teen years. But the kicker of it – the absolute dagger – was the Lyon Christmas card picture, which consisted of Lucious, Cookie, Hakeem, Andre, Jamal and Bella. Anika could've put up a fuss or insist that she be in the picture with her child, but she was too tired and too embarrassed to argue the matter. It was an Empire shot, and Anika didn't work for Empire. _Let them have it._

Anika wasn't surprised when Lucious claimed to be too tired to play the guitar. Lucious on guitar skills could've turned a wonderful singalong into an amazing one. Still, the singalong was a smash without Lucious's input. Jamal had done one hell of a job with Angelo's choir, who took their cues from the Jackson Five Christmas album.

 _The Jackson Five_  
 _Wanna wish everybody_  
 _A mellow Merry Christmas_  
 _And a groovy New Year!_

With the pressure of playing piano gone, Jamal's solo performances were as good as they'd ever been. He led the crowd through hits like Donny's Hathaway's "This Christmas" and the Temptations' "Silent Night", with Nessa taking Eddie Kendricks' falsetto notes. Then Nessa performed a wonderful rendition of "All I Want for Christmas Is You." Naturally, she directed the song to Andre, but Hakeem, who had reunited with Tiana by then, didn't seem to mind.

It wouldn't be Empire without hip-hop. To everyone's delight, Andre, Hakeem and Jamal got decked out as Run-DMC and got everyone shouting out lyrics from "Christmas in Hollis" and "What You Want for Christmas" by Quad City DJs. Leah had to be cajoled to sing "Santa Baby" – or at least that was what it looked like, since Leah had been rehearsing the song all week. When Leah began to stumble on the lyrics, Angelo's mother Diana gently assisted Leah until the two of them were singing as a duet. It was a lovely moment between a lovely pair of singers.

"Sing," Lucious ordered under his breath after the first hour. It wasn't a good look for Lucious's wife to remain silent, especially since the Lyons were all gathered in front of the piano. There was a time when singing was as much a part of Anika as breathing; she'd formally trained as a mezzo-soprano in boarding school all the way through her Julliard years. Lucious's constant nitpicking had reduced Anika's voice to a whisper over the years. She had no soul. She sang like a white girl. How come she didn't know this song, and what the hell was that song? In time, Anika had been rendered mute.

At first, Anika sang very softly, almost lip syncing. But Angelo's voice was broad and warm, filling up the room like a warm mug of chocolate, and Anika's voice became audible in time. It caught Angelo's ear, and he turned his microphone in Anika's direction. "Sing," Lucious growled again, and Anika had no choice but to join Angelo in singing "Let It Snow." "Looks like I've got a partner!" Angelo said admiringly when they were finished. "Anika, do you know this song?" he asked, playing the Bing Crosby/David Bowie duet "Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy."

Nervously, Anika glanced at her husband, who had an unreadable look on his face. Either Lucious was pissed because Anika was singing or he was pissed because she hadn't declined to sing. Either way, Lucious was pissed about something. "I do," Anika said, "but I'm going to need some help. Jamal!" Anika called. "Do you know this song?"

"I only know 'Little Drummer Boy'," Jamal answered. "If you can do the other song, I can harmonize with Angelo."

"Okay, let's do that." The men spoke briefly, picking a time signature and key. Jamal and Angelo had never sung together, but anyone listening would've thought they'd rehearsed this song for days.

 _Come they told me_  
 _Pa-rum-pum-pum-pum_  
 _A newborn king to see_  
 _Pa-rum-pum-pum-pum..._

Listening to Angelo and Jamal singing together, Anika nearly missed her intro, but remembered to come in right on cue at the last second. _"Peace on Earth, can it be? Years from now, perhaps we'll see..."_

The room exploded with applause when the trio was done. Anika had forgotten how much she loved to sing, back before Lucious criticized every note that came out of her mouth until all she ever did was hum. "Okay, Miss Anika," Angelo smiled. "How about this one?"

Angelo played the opening bars to "Baby It's Cold Outside," and Anika joined in. Then the two of them sent the crowd in stitches with "Fairy Tale of New York," a rollicking Irish tune about drunkenness, gambling and drug addiction.

 _You're a bum!_  
 _You're a punk!_  
 _You're an old slut on junk!_  
 _Lying there almost dead_  
 _On a drip in that bed_  
 _You scumbag, you maggot_  
 _Hope you get your bum kicked_  
 _Happy Christmas your ass_  
 _I pray God it's our last!_

"Elle Dallas, everybody!" Anika yelled when she noticed Elle singing along, and Elle harmonized with Anika on the last verse effortlessly. "My kind of song!" Elle yelled before singing "Light One Candle" in honor of her Jewish upbringing.

"You done showing off yet?" Lucious sulked as Jamal took over on the piano while Angelo took a well-deserved break.

"You're the one who told me to sing," Anika reminded Lucious as she slid back into her role of docile Empire wife. "And how do you show off by singing at a singalong?"

When Lucious didn't answer, Anika couldn't help but rub it in. "Look at all these people having fun without you, Lucious. Thought everybody was gonna beg you to sing and play, didn't you?" Lucious's jaw twitched, but he said nothing. "Why don't you just admit you're intimidated by Angelo because he's a better singer than you've ever been?"

Right on cue, Angelo and Cookie returned from Angelo's break, hand in hand. Lucious's eyes nearly bulged from their sockets at Cookie's telling glow and Angelo's loosened tie. "Yeaaaah, Angelo took a break all right," Anika taunted. "Took a break to break Cookie's back."

"You know," Lucious said through a gritted smile, "one of these days I'ma slap the shit out of you."

"You probably will, Lucious." Anika leaned in and kissed Lucious lovingly on the cheek. "But it won't be tonight, will it?" she whispered in his ear.

"Hey!" Angelo's voice called from the front of the room, taking his place back on the piano bench. "Where did Anika go?"

"Yeah, where's Anika?" Nessa's voice called out.

"Oh, there she is!" Diana gestured for Anika with a friendly wave. "Honey, you need to be back up here, where you belong."

Lucious put Anika's arm in such a tight grip that she knew it would leave a bruise on her fair skin. "Let go of my arm," Anika said through her smile. It was Debutante 101.

Lucious let her go. "Keep showing off if you want to," he warned under his breath. "Just remember: _pride goeth before destruction._ " It wasn't merely a Bible verse or even a threat. It was a promise.

Anika didn't drop her gaze. "If that's true, Lucious, then why are you still alive?"

Stunned, Lucious let go of Anika's arm. Until now, he never thought about just how deep Anika's hatred for him actually ran. "Anika, do you know 'O Holy Night'?" Diana asked as Anika made her way back to the piano. "It's always been one of my favorites."

"Oh, that's way over my head," Anika laughed. Only a fool would attempt such a demanding song, especially in a room full of musicians, without extensive rehearsing.

Diana patted Anika's shoulder and beamed. "Honey, with a voice like yours, you can sing anything, I'll bet."

"I...I don't think I can do that one." Anika frantically looked for the next best singer in the room. "Nessa? Care to take a crack at it?"

Nessa shook her head, her eyes wide. "I don't even know the words," she admitted.

"Mama Walker? You must know it." Anika was almost pleading for her mother-in-law to bail her out.

Leah shook her head. "I wouldn't dare try to compete with a voice like yours."

Was Leah being genuine? Anika had a bad feeling that she wasn't, especially when Lucious stepped forward. "C'mon, baby," Lucious encouraged. He made his way to the front of the room. "You can do it. I know you can." He smiled widely to his guests. "Come on, everybody! Let's give my wife a hand!" Of all the times for Lucious to be supportive, he chose now to build Anika up. How could Anika say no without sounding like a spoiled brat? And how was she going to get through the song without making a fool out of herself?

Before Anika could make another excuse, Angelo gestured for Anika to lean down so he could speak into her ear. "Are you really going to miss the opportunity to make Lucious Lyon's head explode?" he asked cagily. He winked at Anika as she stood back up. If she would just listen to him and not Lucious, Angelo knew that Anika would knock that song out the park. "I'll play in E major, okay? You'll be fine, Anika. You got this. And I got you."

Angelo began to play the song slowly enough for Anika to take a deep breath and look back to her husband. Lucious's eyes were glowing, and his smile was wide. Leah was smiling, too. Seeing mother and son side by side, Anika knew now that Leah had been sincere when she encouraged Anika to sing. Lucious, on the other hand, couldn't wait to see Anika fall on her face in front of everyone. _Be damned,_ Anika thought. If Lucious wanted her to sing, that was exactly what she was about to do.

 _O holy night_  
 _The stars are brightly shining_  
 _It is the night of our dear savior's birth..._

Her audition for Julliard, the many performances for her undergraduate degree and her master's in fine arts...the church pageants and Midnight Masses...nothing, but _nothing_ , was more important to Anika than the next four minutes of her life. At the end of the first chorus, Angelo held up two fingers, signaling for Anika to sing the second verse without assistance. Later on, Angelo would tell Anika that he didn't feel like his playing was doing Anika's voice any justice.

By then, Anika's fear had vanished. The entire room was so still while Anika sang a cappella that Lucious's guests might as well have been doing the mannequin challenge. She could've sang much better in her heyday, but never had Anika sang with such passion until tonight.

 _Fall on your knees_  
 _O hear the angels' voices_  
 _O night divine..._

Then another request came from nowhere. "Stop. Please, _stop."_

Anika stopped. With no words coming from her lips, Anika found herself trembling. It was Cookie who had ordered Anika to stop singing, and she'd barely gotten the words out. Her sisters, Candace and Carol, stood to Cookie's left and right, their eyes also filled with tears. They'd been holding Cookie up for as long as they could, and now they struggled to bring Cookie to her feet as Anika fought to stay on hers. "Please," Cookie begged Anika through her tears. "I can't-I just...you...please. I'm sorry...please, Anika."

Furious, Lucious pushed Anika to the side and rushed around the piano to get to Cookie. _"Get away from me!"_ Cookie screamed, shoving Lucious with all her strength. She ran into Angelo's arms, who gripped Cookie tightly while she cried. Angelo and Anika exchanged anguished looks. _What did I do wrong?_ Anika thought miserably, and Angelo looked even more alarmed than Anika was.

To Anika's surprise, Cookie extracted herself from Angelo's arms, turned to Anika and hugged her tightly, then kissed her on the cheek. "Ohhhh, Anika. Your voice is anointed. Thank you. That was my daddy's favorite Christmas song."

 _Anointed?_ Anika didn't know what to say. She felt strange soaking in the wild applause while so many people were wiping their eyes. Even Leah was clapping and smiling with genuine admiration and respect. Giddy from praise, Anika returned Cookie's gesture with a kiss and hug of her own. Peace at last!

A familiar face from the back of the room caught Anika's eye. _Malcolm!_ Malcolm raised his eyebrows, held up his hands and gave a polite golf clap, but his eyes were bright and his smile as trusting as it had always been. Had Malcolm been there the whole time, listening to Anika sing? Just the thought of it made Anika bite her lip and lower her eyes.

"Your face is as red as Rudolph's nose," Cookie observed while drawing Anika into another hug. She'd followed Anika's gaze when Anika returned Malcolm's smile with one of his trademark cocky two-fingered salutes. "You ain't slick, l'il girl."

Anika did her best to bring herself back down to Earth. "I don't know what you're talking about, Cookie."

"Uh-huh," Cookie dabbed at Anika's eyes with Angelo's handkerchief. "I hope Santa gets you what you want." She looked over at Malcolm. "Or _who_ you want, I should say."

All Anika had really ever wanted was Cookie's respect. Everybody else's admiration was extra. "You're my hero!" Nessa shouted in Anika's ear, hugging her tightly. Andre surprised Anika by greeting her with a kiss on the cheek and a warm hug. No matter what the voices in his head had told him once, there was no way a woman with a voice like Anika's could possibly be evil. Finally, Hakeem eagerly greeted his child's mother. "Bella's first Christmas in the bank," he grinned. "We did it, Anika."

"We did, Hakeem. Merry Christmas." No matter how bad the situation had been that brought Bella into this world, Anika knew that she wouldn't have changed anything. Surrounded by her stepsons and admirers and a certain sexy friend in the back of the room, Anika couldn't have been happier.

She should've known it wouldn't last.

As the applause and the praise began to die down, there came the harsh, slow clapping of a single pair of hands. "Yes, yes." Lucious said, his voice sickeningly sweet. "Fall on your knees. What a beautiful message from my lovely wife. _Fall...on...your knees."_ There was no way to misinterpret Lucious's message. "We should all spend more time on our knees, just as Anika here has inspired my family to do. Yes, sir...with a voice like that, Anika, you must be on your knees all the time."

"Lucious," Cookie whispered, horrified. "No."

"It's okay," Anika said under her breath. She wasn't going to let Lucious break her, not tonight.

Lucious seemed disappointed that Anika didn't cry or back down. "As we're all having this solemn moment of thanks," Lucious continued, taking the wireless microphone off the stand so he could walk around the room, "I would also like to thank my wife for the gift of my granddaughter, Bella. Or I should say _our_ granddaughter, since her mama is her grandmama, too."

"Dwight!" Leah said sharply. She might not have liked Anika, but Lucious was airing out family business in front of outsiders, one thing Leah could never condone.

"See, Anika here had a baby by her stepson - my youngest son, Hakeem," Lucious explained, as a number of the WOKE choir members - some as young as 10 years old - looked thoroughly confused. "That makes Bella my granddaughter, you see. And since Anika is married to me, that makes her daughter her granddaughter, too. Make sense?" Lucious cracked up at his own joke. "Probably not. But that's the Lyons for you."

"What is wrong with him?" Diana whispered to Angelo, who - like nearly everyone in the audience - was stunned into silence or murmuring among themselves. "Is Lucious drunk?"

"Yeah, why is he trying to ruin his own party?" The newest person in the Lyon family circle, Nessa had never been privy to the typical Lucious Lyon antics, nor had she ever noticed the sheer hatred Anika and Lucious had for one another.

"Where is my son Hakeem, anyway?" Lucious called out jovially. "Hakeem, come up here for a minute so you can stand here with your stepmother! You two have a baby celebrating her first Christmas! Maybe Anika can fall on her knees about that, too. Oh, wait...she already did that, didn't she?" Lucious scanned the room until he found his next target. "Then there's my oldest son, Andre. Now, _here's_ a man who has a lot to get on his knees for. See, my wife here killed Andre's wife-"

Jamal pushed his way to the front of the room. "Dad, that's enough!" He tried to reach for the microphone, but Lucious turned his body away. "-because poor Rhonda thought that Anika here had killed Andre's baby," Lucious went on. "But lucky for our family, Andre got his medication straightened out and he ain't crazy no more." Lucious grinned at Anika and Andre. "Or did you fall on your knees and fix that too, Anika?"

Andre made it to Lucious before Hakeem did. _"What the hell is wrong with you?"_ he hissed. Between his meds and his therapist, Andre had just started to make peace with Anika, accepting the fact that it wasn't her fault that Rhonda was dead. Contrary to his pre-medicated beliefs, Anika had nothing to do with the death of their child, and Rhonda would still be alive had she not tried to throw Anika over a building rail. It took months and months to lead up to their fragile peace. Now Lucious was here stirring up ill will, and for what? Because his wife sang a song at a singalong?

Not only could Anika no longer keep her head held high, but she couldn't even keep her eyes open. Any second now, her tears would break free from her lashes. Leah made her way to Lucious and placed her hand over the microphone. "Dwight, stop it! Stop this right now! _She is your wife!"_

By now, Lucious was having a gay old time. He pointed the microphone to Anika, who pursed her lips as tightly as she could. Her angelic voice had been replaced by soft, choking sounds made louder by the mic. "Was there something you were trying to say, baby?"

The words, barely audible but clear as Christmas bells, rushed from Anika's lips before she could swallow them. _"I hate you."_

It was low enough for only the people around them to have heard her, but the effect on Lucious was immediate. Lucious turned the microphone off and handed it to somebody nearby, then took a step closer to Anika. "What did you say to me?" he repeated just as softly. The quietness of his words made them that much more threatening.

"Mr. Lyon?"

Malcolm wasn't walking from the back of the room, where he'd been not too long ago, but from the side of the room, through the kitchen. The crowd moved for Malcolm as if he was parting the Red Sea, and Malcolm moved like he expected them to do just that. "Sorry to interrupt you all," he apologized. "Mrs. Lyon, we need you in the nursery."

"For what?" Lucious and Cookie asked at the same time, while the Mrs. Lyon Malcolm was referring to was shaking in Hakeem's arms, swallowing back her tears.

"It's Bella, sir," Malcolm explained. "She's hungry and won't stop crying. Juanita tried to give her a bottle, but I guess Bella wants her mother."

It was the answer to the prayers Anika had been praying 10 minutes ago, and it couldn't have come a moment too soon. "Excuse me." If Anika could just make it through the kitchen and out into the hallway, she would be spared the humiliation of having a nervous breakdown in front of everybody in the room.

"Yeah, well...who doesn't want Anika? She's so...accessible." Lucious blocked Anika's way through the kitchen, forcing her to take the longer walk through the crowd and out the back way, where Malcolm had been originally been standing. It also kept Malcolm from leaving the floor with Anika as he'd planned to do. "Hakeem. Go with your stepmama so you two can check up on your baby."

"Go to Hell," Hakeem said under his breath. Looking straight ahead, Anika turned to walk behind Hakeem, but Hakeem took a step back and extended his hand for Anika to walk ahead of him. A swell of applause followed Anika and Hakeem as they left the room together to tend to their daughter. The clapping grew louder and louder as the two moved closer and closer to the foyer.

Hakeem stopped and took Anika's hand in his. "Take your bow," he encouraged with a warm smile, and he rose his arm to let Anika gracefully twirl around and face the crowd. Nearly every person in the room on their feet and cheering with gusto, and the person cheering the loudest of all was Cookie Lyon.

* * *

There was no crying when Anika and Hakeem came into the nursery. Juanita was humming and knitting. "Miss Anika!" she greeted. "I heard you singing down there when I was coming through the kitchen. Girl, you got a voice and a half!"

"Thank you, Juanita." Anika looked around. "Where's Bella?"

"Asleep in her crib. She's been a little angel all night long. Like she's trying to get on Santa's good list! Of course, she's always gonna be on Santa's good list."

"She's sleeping? But..." Anika's voice trailed.

"Something wrong, Miss Anika?"

"We'll take it from here. Thank you, Juanita." Hakeem pointed to the knitting. "Looks good."

"Why, thank you." Juanita leaned in for a hug and kiss, then packed her things and left. "How you doin', Malcolm?" she asked on her way out the door.

"Evening, Miss Juanita," Malcolm greeted respectfully.

"S'up, Malcolm?" Hakeem called from across the room. "I thought you said Bella was crying?"

"Did I?" Malcolm shrugged. "Must be hearing things."

Without batting an eye, Malcolm had lied to Lucious in front of everybody just to spare Anika further humiliation. That embarrassed Anika even more. "What are you doing up here, anyway? Aren't you working tonight?"

"I'm not on duty, no. And even if I was, it wouldn't matter. Party's over."

"Over!?" Hakeem and Anika asked simultaneously. "I thought it wasn't going to be over until midnight?" Anika asked.

"There's been a change of plans."

"I don't follow..."

Malcolm winked at Anika. "Go look out the window."

Hakeem crossed the room and looked out of the window. "Yoooo," he said wondrously. "Anika, you gotta come see this."

To Anika's surprise, the front porch and the driveway were filled with people, and the valets were scrambling like crazy. "What's happening?" Anika asked worriedly. "Is there something going on outside?"

"They're leaving, Anika." Malcolm was surprised that he had to connect the dots for her. "It's their way of turning their backs for what Lucious did to you. They're hitting him where it hurts."

"Where, his wallet?" Hakeem asked.

"No, his ego." Malcolm took his usual spot on the floor. "Hakeem, if I were you, I'd make sure your mother doesn't go killing your father. I don't know who's about to kill him first – Cookie, Andre or Mrs. Walker. Right now, Lucious doesn't have a friend in Jesus."

"Let them kill his ass, then." Hakeem kissed Anika's cheek on his way out the door.

"Why are you still here?" Anika asked when Hakeem left and Malcolm didn't move. God knew she appreciated the way Malcolm had bailed her out, but she was still embarrassed by it. _Fall...on...your knees_. Anika would never sing that song again as long as she lived.

Malcolm gave Anika his sweetest smile. "I'm dying for a cold Cherry Coke and this is the closest place I can get one. And if you have some of that salsa that you make..."

Anika waved towards the kitchen. "Your legs ain't broke," she said. "Go get it yourself. I'll be back in a minute."

While Anika changed out of her party clothes and checked up on Bella, Malcolm was setting out their usual snack – Cherry Cokes, chips and salsa. "What made you stop singing?" Malcolm asked the minute she came back in the room.

Anika shrugged. She knew Malcolm was going to ask. "I went into A&R work." She didn't like thinking about how Lucious had robbed her of her voice. "You want some cheese quesadillas?" Anika stood up, not really wanting to talk about it anymore. "I just made some yesterday."

"That sounds good. Watching Lucious Lyon make an ass out of himself is hard work. So is watching you shine." Malcolm raised his Coke can. "Tonight, you are the light of the world."

" _You are the light of the world..."_ Anika sang wistfully. "You ever hear of a musical called  Godspell?"

"I have." Malcolm rummaged through the cabinets. "Well, we can't have wine," he said, referring to a line in the song, "but we have wine glasses." He held up a pair. "Good enough?"

"Good enough. And I can have wine in moderation," Anika corrected. "Besides, I've pumped enough milk for...oh, I'm sorry," Anika apologized. "That's TMI, isn't it?"

"What, baby food? I think I'll be okay."

It was silly, drinking Cherry Coke from wine glasses. But between the singalong, the walkout, and talking with Malcolm, Anika was in a bit of a silly mood. "So how long were you up there, watching me sing?" she asked Malcolm shyly.

"Don't remember. But I heard all of the last song you sang." _Fall on your knees._ Malcolm was agnostic, but Anika's voice made Malcolm want to grab a staff and follow the star in the East all the way to Jerusalem. "Your voice is a gift from God, Anika, and you shouldn't hide it like you do. _So let your light so shine before men,"_ he added in a lovely baritone. "And Lucious, too."

"Is that your favorite Godspell song – 'You Are the Light of the World?'"

"No, mine is 'Bless the Lord, My Soul'. But 'Light' is another good one. And don't change the subject," he chided gently. "You still haven't told me why you don't sing anymore."

"I don't know," Anika said slowly. "I know I had a voice-"

" _Have_ a voice," Malcolm corrected.

"Fine, _have_ a voice. But... I know I don't have a soulful voice like Nessa's. You get around these kinds of singers and you get intimidated over the years. And then Lucious..." Anika's voice trailed. She didn't want to sound like a whiner, but there was something about Malcolm that made Anika think that he might understand. "Lucious would make fun of my singing a lot."

"Really?"

"Yeah. He would make fun of the songs I would sing. Or just the way I sing, period. Even if I was just singing under my breath, he always had something to say. He'd swear he was just joking, but it didn't feel like it. I know it sounds silly, but I guess he just got in my head."

Malcolm nodded slowly, understanding. "Back in Martinique, I was always the kid who led the class pledge or did the announcements over the speaker. I knew English, too. But when we got to America, it was a nightmare." Malcolm took a few swallows from his wine glass before going on. "Imagine this black kid in Bed-Stuy with this thick, French accent. I _stayed_ getting my ass kicked. So for a long time, I stopped talking."

"What got you over your fear of speaking?"

"Comic books, believe it or not. There was this one – Black Panther. You ever hear of it?" Anika nodded. "It's hard to explain...here was this black man who was brilliant, but he was cool, too. I know it sounds weird, but it really did help with my English. Not just with the words, but with the rhythm, the tone, the vernacular, stuff like that. It boosted my confidence, too." Malcolm frowned. "I know it sounds weird getting all of that from a comic book, but seeing that kind of black man front and center meant a lot to me."

"Representation matters, no matter where it comes from." Malcolm smiled, happy that Anika understood. "So you collect comic books, huh?"

Malcolm's smile faded. "I used to have a huge stack of them, but my father threw them away one day. He said that comic books were junk and I shouldn't waste time reading them. I still read them, but I was afraid to bring them home. Damn, and they would've been worth a ton of money nowadays, too."

"I meant to ask you something, Malcolm." Anika took Malcolm's empty glass and refilled it, along with the salsa bowl. "If you weren't on duty tonight, what were you doing at the singalong? I know you weren't filled with the Empire holiday spirit."

"Oh. That." Malcolm rolled his eyes. "I was supposed to meet some friends up for drinks at a nearby sports bar and watch the Knicks play."

"Shouldn't you be going, then?"

Malcolm shrugged. "Never got into basketball. I texted them not too long ago and said I couldn't make it." He smiled in Anika in that way that made her face flush. "I'd rather hang out with you, if you don't mind."

Anika looked away, and she could feel her face turning red again. The sound of Bella crying saved her. "Depends," she answered back, not looking up. "What are you reading my baby tonight?"

* * *

Just as the sun crept into the sky, Anika shook Malcolm awake. The last thing Malcolm remembered was reading to Bella; how he'd wound up asleep on the nursery floor was a blur. "I'm leaving for my parents' house this morning," Anika informed him. "I'll have to be back by Christmas Eve or Lucious will pitch a fit as long as I have Bella with me," she said sadly. "But I can't even look at him this morning. I just can't."

Malcolm insisted on taking her bags out to the cab; if Lucious was downstairs, he wasn't about to let Anika battle it out with him alone. He hadn't even made it back to his suite in the east wing when Anika shot him a text. It was her home address, along with a message: **WHAT'S URS? XMAS CARDS IN THE MAIL THIS WEEK.**

Malcolm shot Anika his address in New Jersey. **SEND $$$. OR PICS. ;)**

Malcolm was the first to the post office, not Anika. Just four days after Anika left for her parents' house, a box with three gifts came for Anika: a bottle of vintage wine, an autographed poster of the 1973 movie cast of Godspell, and a CD of the corresponding soundtrack with "track 8" scribbled on a Post-It. Anika smiled as she found the corresponding song. "You Are the Light of the World," Anika read aloud. "Of course."

 _So let your light so shine before men_  
 _Let your light so shine_  
 _So that they might know kindness again_  
 _We all need help to feel fine_  
 _(Let's have some wine!)_

Anika had received many gifts from men in her life, but none so thoughtful and kind. "Ooh, Nicki!" her sister Arielle gasped, spotting the vintage poster rolled out on the kitchen table. "Who got this for you? I know it wasn't Lucious's cheap ass."

"Nope, it wasn't. Roll that back up and put it back in the tube, please? I'll fix you some wine to go with our cookies." Filled with joy, Anika hoisted Bella out of her high chair. "Bella," she declared with pride, "you are the light of the world!"

Bella laughed and clapped her hands as Anika and Arielle skipped around the kitchen. _"So let your light so shine before men,"_ they sang happily. " _Let your light so shine..."_ Never again would Lucious Lyon steal Anika's gift or her joy. Never again would Lucious steal her shine.

* * *

Back at the Lyon household a week later, Anika received a phone call on Christmas Eve. "Hi, Malcolm," she greeted, her heart racing a bit. She was half expecting Malcolm to call and half expecting him not to call. Just because she'd sent Malcolm a Christmas gift didn't mean that he had to call her.

"Anika, hey. I got your gift tonight. I...I don't know what to say."

"I hope I didn't overstep, Malcolm," Anika said. "It's just that what you got for me was so sweet..."

"Oh, no! Not at all. It's just...wow, Anika... Wow. Thank you."

It was like Malcolm was a kid again, rushing to the nearest store to spend his lunch money on a comic book that he could never bring into the house. Only now they were all his. Even his older brothers were jealous. Malcolm made them copies of the USB drive that contained all the scanned comics, but he refused to open any of the books until he was back at his hotel. "What have you been up to since getting back to the house?"

"Drinking wine and driving everybody crazy listening to Godspell." Whatever good will had been shared at the singalong was dead. Anika taking Bella away without telling anyone had the Lyons united in distrusting her again. Even though Anika had left a message on the door and everybody knew where Anika's parents stayed, they still treated Anika visiting her parents with her own daughter as an outright kidnapping. "You wanna say hi to Bella?"

"Sure." Bella squealed and babbled at the sound of Malcolm's voice. "She misses you, you know," Anika informed Malcolm when she finally pried the phone away from her daughter. "You'll have to hurry back."

"Is Bella the only one who misses me?" Malcolm teased.

"No. I think Juanita misses you, too. When are you coming back?"

"New Year's Eve. All hands on deck for the big concert. Think Bella and Juanita can hang on that long?"

"Just barely."

"And you, Miss Calhoun?" Malcolm asked, his voice filled with concern. "Will you be able to hang on until I get back? I can leave the day after Christmas if you want me to."

"Oh, you don't have to do that, Malcolm." As long as Anika hid in the nursery, drank lots of wine and sang at the top of her lungs, she figured she could manage. "I'll be fine. Just..."

"Yes?" Malcolm prompted when Anika didn't finish her sentence.

"Just...promise me you'll be back in time for the New Year's party. I don't think I can go through that party alone."

"I promise." If Malcolm said he was going to be back by New Year's Eve, then Anika knew Malcolm was going to be back by New Year's Eve. The thought made her whole body grow hot, not just her face.

* * *

Perhaps the hours that had passed from the time Malcolm had made an ass of himself in front of Anika and the time he knocked on the nursery door had done them both some good. He could hear Anika singing tunes from Jesus Christ Superstar clean up the hall. "Well, well, well," Anika announced. "Look who finally showed up. Look, Bella!" she added sarcastically to her daughter. "It's Malcolm DeVeaux. Christmas must've come twice this year."

Babbling and cooing, Bella reached out for Malcolm. "Hakeem said you wanted to be alone for a while. I left you alone. But I missed my Easter bunny." Malcolm took Bella from Anika and blew raspberries on her stomach, smiling as she shrieked with laughter.

"That was two hours ago, Malcolm." Anika took Bella out of his arms and sat in the rocking chair. Just her luck Malcolm would get her all wound up before it was time for her to go to sleep.

"And I just found all this out two minutes ago. Look, are we gonna talk about this or not?"

" _Excuse_ me? You don't get to dictate the way this conversation goes, Malcolm. Even a low self-esteem having wife can have some say-so."

"Anika," Malcolm said wearily. "That's not the way I meant it and you know it."

"Are you sure?" Anika pressed. "Because it sure as hell seems like the only reason why you ever got with me is because Lucious told you to be nice to me."

"Lucious never told me to be nice to you," Malcolm corrected in his usual blunt manner, and Anika visibly winced. "What I mean," he clarified, "is that what Lucious intended to happen isn't why it happened. I know he thought I would come here in the north wing and then we'd just start having sex-"

"Isn't that what happened?"

"Well...yeah," Malcolm admitted. "But that's not why I'm here."

"Then why _are_ you here, Malcolm?"

"Financial stability and free rent," Malcolm said honestly. "Come on, Anika!" he pleaded when Anika rose from her chair and walked to Bella's crib, leaving him behind. "We didn't even talk for weeks when I first got here! I must've been here for a month or something before we said two words to each other. Remember?"

Anika stopped moving for a moment. How could she ever forget? _"Dessine-moi un mouton."_

Malcolm beamed. "That's right. 'Draw me a sheep.'" He smiled as Anika tried to hide her own. "Is my rose going to be mad at me forever?" he asked, taking her by the waist and drawing her close. _"Vous me apprivoisé,"_ he said softly in her ear _. "_ You're stuck with me now."

The word _apprivoiser_ was the source of many of Malcolm and Anika's post-Little Prince conversations. In English, to tame something meant to bend something – or someone – and mold it to their will. In French, to tame something merely meant to establish ties. But in the French version of The Little Prince, _apprivoiser_ had a much deeper meaning. Out of all the roses in the world, the prince's rose was the only rose that he had eyes for. The prince protected his rose, cared for his rose, would die for his rose if it came to that. Did Malcolm feel so strongly about her?

 _I thought he liked me_ , Anika cried just a few hours ago, holding her baby girl in her arms for strength. Now, as Anika placed Bella in her crib to sleep, here Malcolm was saying that he felt much stronger than Anika could have imagined. _Vous me apprivoisé,_ Malcolm had told her. _You tamed me_. And as the fox told the prince, _"You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed."_

The idea of such intense feelings – not to mention such responsibility - made Anika very tired all of a sudden. "I'm going to lie down, Malcolm."

"Want some company?"

Anika didn't answer, nor did she send Malcolm away when he followed her into the nursery's adjoining bedroom. Anika turned her back to Malcolm when he laid next to Anika, but she didn't push Malcolm away when he pulled Anika into his arms. Malcolm wanted Anika to forgive him so badly, she knew. She already had. And it wasn't Malcolm's feelings for Anika that was making her so tired. It was suppressing her own feelings for Malcolm.

Without words, Anika shifted to her other side. She rolled over onto her back and guided Malcolm's lips to her lips, then to her neck and breasts, then down her stomach and past her waist. It was just as well, Anika thought as her hands wound tightly in Malcolm's hair and her hips began to move. Anika was responsible for this man that she had tamed. Malcolm was her prince, after all. And Anika was his rose.


	3. And a Groovy New Year

Like many combat veterans, Malcolm suffered from night terrors. His nightmares came in one of three flavors. The mildest ones were general dreams that most people had – falling off a building, being chased by a serial killer and so on. He would wake up, shake them off and go back to sleep, the same as anybody else.

The more disturbing dreams had to do with Malcolm's time in combat and his years as a Navy SEAL. Malcolm would bolt upright in bed on those nights breathing heavily or trembling, eyes vacant and fists tightly clenched. Anika would coax Malcolm back to sleep using whatever means were at her disposal - with words, with touches, with kisses, with her body. Whatever it took to soothe Malcolm's soul.

On nights when Anika woke up in a sweat-soaked, empty bed, she knew that Malcolm was having his darkest dreams. Anika never asked Malcolm what he dreamed about on nights like those, and Malcolm never told her. He only sought comfort in one person after his most intense nightmares, the ones he couldn't even speak about.

 _Bella, won't you marry me?_  
 _Twelve months I have been at sea._  
 _Underneath the stars above_  
 _You and I will pledge our love_  
 _Bella, won't you marry me?_  
 _Twelve months I have been at sea..._

Many combat veterans had access to service pets, but Malcolm was blessed to have a service baby. Walking around the nursery or the guest house or the mansion halls, Malcolm would hold Bella in his arms and work to calm himself, watching her sleep if she wasn't awake and singing to her if she wasn't asleep. Singing lullabies to Bella helped regulate Malcolm's breathing and steady his steps, and Bella loved Malcolm's singing voice as much as she loved his reading voice. So did Anika.

Tonight, Bella was awake. Even better, there were no nightmares causing Malcolm to sing to his favorite little girl. The two of them were relaxing on the hammock outside the nursery, where Anika and Malcolm had fallen asleep after a delicious lovemaking session that left Anika _apprivoisée_ in every language and every definition of the word.

 _Bella, won't you marry me?  
Twelve months I have been at sea..._

"Da-da-da-da," Bella sang along. For the first time, Malcolm didn't correct her. It had become a chore, for Bella would whine and double down any time Anika or Malcolm tried to correct her. "Dada!" she would cry, her chubby arms reaching for Malcolm. _"Dada!"_ It was a terrible thing, Anika knew, but in Bella's mind, Anika was Mommy, Malcolm was Daddy and Hakeem was just some guy. "Maybe," Malcolm said slowly. "Maybe I can be your dada someday. What do you think, Anika?" he added over his shoulder as Anika stood quietly behind them.

 _How in the world...?_ One day, when Anika finally broke free of Lucious's chokehold, she could see it happening, maybe. For now, Anika chose to sidestep the question. "So tell me more about this award you're receiving tomorrow," Anika prompted. "This award for your work that I know absolutely nothing about."

Malcolm sat up and shifted over to let Anika sit down, placing Bella between the two of them. "Not a lot to tell," Malcolm answered. "It's for the work I've done with veterans over at WOKE with Angelo. I wasn't even planning to go until a couple of days ago."

"Why not?"

Malcolm shrugged. "What difference would it make if I couldn't take you as my guest?"

"Because I know how important this must be to you." Anika kissed Malcolm's cheek lightly. "After everything that's happened, you still don't want to talk about your PTSD work with me. And now you're getting an award for it."

"You know what it's like, Anika. You saw it at the New Year's party. You see it every time a car backfires or somebody knocks a book over. My nightmares..." For a while, the trio watched the sun set and the fireflies come out to let their light shine before all. "This award...you're right, Anika. It means a lot to me. A _lot_. But I don't want to be there if I can't take you with me." He let out a tired, resigned sigh. "I know, I know, you're Lucious's wife-"

"In name only." If anybody had any ideas that Lucious and Anika were actually in love, they were definitely shot to hell by the end of the New Year's party. Anika ran her hands up and down Malcolm's chest. "If this means so much to you, Malcolm, why didn't you ask me to come with you?"

"That's what I was talking to Lucious about this morning," Malcolm said. "I was asking if Lucious and Cookie would babysit Bella for the weekend so I could take you to a film festival tonight. And if we enjoyed that, maybe I could actually take you to my banquet."

Anika was stunned. She was under the impression that Lucious had put two and two together and figured out that his wife's live-in bodyguard was more than just her running partner. In reality, Malcolm had gone into Lucious' office to claim his wife for himself, and he'd done it without talking to her first. It was unsettling, but it was also typical Malcolm. He would be damned if he snuck around town with another man's wife. "You'd have to ask me first," Anika pointed out. "I don't know why you asked Lucious before you asked me."

"You drive me crazy. You know that?" Malcolm picked Bella up, got out of the hammock and followed Anika into the kitchen, where Anika had prepared lunch for Bella. "Mommy drives me crazy, Bella. Yes, she does." Malcolm fastened Bella's bib around her neck. "Doesn't she drive you crazy, Bella? She drives _me_ crazy."

"Don't bring my baby into this!" Anika laughed. "It's not her fault that you don't know how to ask a woman out." For a while, the two of them watched as Bella carefully spooned bite-sized ravioli pieces into her mouth. _She's growing up so fast_. "In fact, you haven't even invited me to this film festival you were jawing about."

"So...if I asked you to go with me, you'd go?" Malcolm asked, trying to sound casual.

Anika stood and walked to the other side of the table. Smiling, she sat in Malcolm's lap and draped her arms around his shoulders. "I'll go with you," she promised. "But only if you ask me the right way."

Malcolm's eyes lit up. "What, to the banquet?" he asked, and he no longer sounded so nonchalant.

"To the festival," Anika said gently. "And if still I like you by tomorrow, then we'll talk about going to your banquet." _And letting the world know that Lucious Lyon's wife has a boyfriend_ , she thought sadly.

Meanwhile, Malcolm looked so hopeful and happy that Anika could've cried for him. No matter how badly Malcolm wanted Anika by his side tomorrow, there was no way that Lucious Lyon was going to let his wife step out on another man's arm. The last time Anika dared to do such a thing, it ended in a complete disaster. But in their happy little nursery world, Anika and Malcolm could play out their domestic fantasy - _Mommy, Daddy, baby -_ and live the life that could never, ever exist outside of their little bubble.

* * *

Cookie knew Angelo was going to propose at the New Year's Eve party

Anika knew that Angelo was going to propose at the New Years's Eve party.

Malcolm knew that Angelo was going to propose at the New Year's Eve party, and he barely knew Angelo.

Lucious knew that Angelo was going to propose at the New Year's Eve party, and he knew Cookie was going to say yes, and he knew there wasn't a damn thing he could do to stop it.

About an hour before the party started, Anika found Lucious half-drunk and half-dressed in his office, flicking old wedding pictures into a lit fireplace as an old LeVert song played over and over.

 _I ain't much on Casanova_  
 _Me and Romeo ain't never been friends_  
 _Can't you see how much I really love ya_  
 _Gonna sing it to you time and time again.._

She didn't know why, but Anika was compelled to walk over to Lucious and still his hand before he could do any more damage to the faded pictures. "I'm sorry, Lucious," she said when Lucious looked up at her, his face visibly pained. "I know you're hurting, and I wish...I don't know..." Anika's voice faded with the cold look on Lucious's face. "I just wish..." she tried again.

"What?" Lucious asked in a cruel, mocking tone. "You wish you could make me as happy as she did?"

"No," Anika answered truthfully. "There was a time once when all I wanted was to make you happy. Not anymore."

"Oh, yeah?" Lucious asked. "Why not?"

"Because Cookie was probably the best thing you ever had in your life, and what good did it do her?" Lucious's eyes narrowed, and Anika knew not to go any further. "What the hell do you have on?" he finally said, eyeing Anika with disgust. "Go change your dress."

"What's wrong with my dress?"

"It's too short. Go change." To Anika's horror, Lucious stood and flung the entire wedding photo in the fireplace, then stalked out of the office without another word to Anika.

A few wedding photos had fallen out of the album. Anika picked them from off the floor and took them with her into her nursery bedroom. She didn't know why she felt the need to save them from incineration, but she did it anyway. Maybe it was because the only thing that made Lucious human was his love for Cookie. Without it, he was completely irredeemable.

* * *

Lucious had other reasons to be pissed. For starters, many of the people who had been at the singalong had declined to attend the Empire party, including Nessa, Tiana and even his own mother. Hakeem, Jamal and Andre were all forced to be there, of course, but neither Jamal nor Hakeem would be performing. Empire's concert was really more of an artist spotlight, something just shy of Open Mike Night. It was a great opportunity for some of Empire's up-and-comers to get some real performance experience under their belt, but all Lucious saw was a snub from his A-list artists.

Anika didn't seem to be marching in lockstep, either. After going over some last minute details with the caterers, Anika came back to the nursery to find that not only did Lucious expect Anika to change her dress, he'd actually chosen the dress she was supposed to wear. At first, Anika obediently took off the dress she liked and went to change into the dress Lucious liked. But then she passed by her beloved Godspell poster, the one that Malcolm had so carefully chosen for her. _So let your light so shine for all men/let your light so shine..._

"I thought I told you to change," Lucious commented with a fake smile on his face just seconds before they went down the stairs to greet their guests.

Anika matched Lucious's fake smile with a real one of her own. "You did."

It got worse for Lucious. Hakeem nixed the offensive Christmas card before it was even sent. "Either Anika's in the picture or Bella isn't in the picture," he told Lucious. "But that Christmas card ain't goin' nowhere." Since Anika declined to take the picture – why would she, since she wasn't an Empire employee? – Lucious was forced to take the picture again without his grandchild. Then, just to rub it in, Anika and Hakeem took lots of pictures with Bella, with Jamal and Cookie and Andre – who left as soon as the New Year's card was taken - and posted them on all of Empire's social media accounts. There was nothing Lucious could do seethe.

As angry as they'd all been at Anika taking Bella to upstate New York, cooler heads had prevailed in the Lyon family by the night of the party. For the sake of business, if nothing else, Lucious and Anika recalibrated their public face, presenting themselves once again as a loving, united couple. The singalong debacle? Just a bad joke between husband and wife. Angelo DuBois? A great man for a wonderful woman like Cookie. _Right_.

The public showing of a loving husband and wife lasted for all of 10 minutes. Lucious didn't love Anika, didn't like Anika, and didn't want Anika. When he wasn't pouting and mooning over his ex-wife, Lucious went through great lengths to punish Anika at every turn – handing other women drinks, cutting Anika off when she tried to speak, disappearing over and over again with female guests. It was all so normal that it barely registered to Anika. She'd been through it before.

But Anika was tired of the fake smiles, tired of sharing dance after dance with her stepsons and ignoring the sympathetic looks and whispers of the party guests. When Lucious strolled past Anika with not one, but _two_ women on his left and right arm, Anika had had enough. After downing a champagne flute, Anika took a deep breath and walked right up to Malcolm, who was talking to an attractive woman that Anika recognized as one of Lucious's old bimbos. "Walk with me, Mr. DeVeaux?" Anika asked boldly. "I could use a drink."

Malcolm turned to the woman, who wore a disapproving expression. "Excuse me, Beth," he said politely. "Duty calls." He took Anika's arm in his and walked away with Anika. "Thanks," Malcolm said under his breath. "She's a nice girl, but..."

"Not your type?"

Malcolm frowned at Beth, who was already flirting with one of Malcolm's security agents. "Definitely not my type."

"She's very pretty," Anika pressed.

"This whole place is filled with beautiful women." Malcolm took two glasses from a waiter and handed one to Anika, not knowing that Anika already had a drink. "Takes a lot more than that to get a drink from me, you know."

"I'll keep that in mind." They clinked their glasses together. "So what kind of woman does it take to get Malcolm DeVeaux?" Anika asked.

"Well..." Malcolm knew the kind of woman she wanted, but it was hard to put into words. "She has to be smart. I don't mean a college degree and all that, but I want a woman with a good head on her shoulders. The kind who can make a dollar out of fifteen cents. And she has to know how to cook. Sorry, Anika," he laughed as Anika cut her eyes playfully. "Um...she has to be a good person at heart...loves kids, since I have so many nieces and nephews...pretty...light-skinned-"

 _"Light-skinned?"_ Anika stepped back from Malcolm. "Are you serious, Malcolm?"

"No." Malcolm grinned. "I just wanted to see if you were still listening."

"Punk ass." Anika knocked back her glass of alcohol quickly, then switched glasses with Malcolm. "If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were describing Cookie."

"Yikes." Malcolm frowned and made the sign of the cross. "It's going to be a long night," he cautioned when Anika finished Malcolm's drink, handed the empty glasses to a waiter and reached for another full glass. "I don't think Lucious is going to like me carrying you all the way back to the nursery."

"Who cares?"

"I care," Malcolm answered. "And I'm sure your husband cares, too. It's my job to keep you safe."

At the word _husband_ , Anika drank the new glass as quickly as the first. "You haven't said anything about my dress," she admonished Malcolm. Anika stepped away from him and started to twirl, but suddenly felt a little light-headed and decided against it. "How do I look?"

"Shiny." Malcolm wasn't fooled for a bit. When Anika took another full glass, Malcolm took it out of her hand and gave it back to the waiter. "Is there anything I can do that doesn't involve you getting falling-down drunk?" he asked, his voice as firm as it was kind.

Anika was annoyed at Malcolm's policing, but the champagne was going to her head a little faster than expected. "Walk with me," she ordered. "And tell me how your vacation was."

She knew it was a bad look, but Anika couldn't help but feel a little smug walking out the room with Malcolm, especially when Malcolm draped his coat around Anika's shoulders before opening the door for her to walk outside. Anika knew that Lucious's goons would run and snitch before they even made it down the stairs. Anika also knew that Lucious would be too busy downing liquor and having his dick sucked to care.

"Okay, my vacation." Malcolm offered his arm to Anika, and the two of them walked down the mansion's stairs and made their way down the running path that wrapped around the Lyon estate. The air was cool and crisp and the sky was clear – a perfect night for a winter walk. "Take four men all over the age of 40, throw in 11 extremely athletic nieces and nephews and add the world's most intense snowball fight for three days straight."

"That sounds like a lot of fun, being from such a big family. Especially having snowball fights. I didn't see snow until I came to the United States when I was 18."

"Yeah, well when you're in your 20's, it's all fun and hot cocoa. When you're in your 40's, it's all pain and Icy Hot." They both laughed. "Add a father who is always up my ass about when I'm going to meet a nice girl like my brothers did, even though Kevin's on his third wife, Rodney's dodging child support and I have more half-brothers and sisters than I care to count. Now, throw us all in a house the size of my wing here...let's just say I was glad when the clock struck New Year's Eve. What about you? How was your vacation?"

"Oh, it was loads of fun." Anika rolled her eyes. "I had to spend my entire vacation listening to my mother and my sister telling me how stupid I am for saying with Lucious. My dad telling me over and over and over that I can always bring Bella and go back home...like Lucious would let me. I mean, he'd be happy to send me back home, but there's no way he'd let me take Bella." Anika gave a sharp, bitter laugh. "Really, the only good thing about it was your wine."

"I know the feeling," Malcolm surmised. "Don't get me wrong, I love my family, but they can drive me crazy. I could've spent the whole time reading comic books and listening to the songs you sent me." Over the week, Malcolm and Anika had swapped so many "what-are-you-listening-to" texts and emails that one would've thought the two of them were music CEOs. "Not to mention that the GRE is next month and I need to keep studying with you and Andre. Plus, I missed Bella."

"Only Bella?" Anika teased, playfully pulling away from Malcolm and walking up the path.

"No, not just Bella." Malcolm caught up to Anika. "Every night, I dreamed of Juanita's cheese grits greeting me in the morning."

"Very funny." Anika stopped walking, forcing Malcolm to do the same. "Did you miss me, Mr. DeVeaux?" she asked outright. It was a silly question, but Anika just had to know. Had he missed her the way Anika had missed him? Had Malcolm missed her at all?

Malcolm's smile was slow in coming. Even though they'd spent the entire vacation texting and talking, Malcolm missed Anika more and more every time they weren't communicating with each other. "I missed you, Miss Calhoun," he said, his warm and kind without a hint of sarcasm or condescension. Malcolm wrapped his other arm around Anika's waist and pulled her close enough for their bodies to touch. It was the closest they'd ever been before. "I'm glad I'm back here with you."

A secret thrill shot through Anika's body as she boldly draped her arms around Malcolm's shoulders. "I missed you, too," she admitted. Maybe it was the champagne, but Anika suddenly felt light-headed, even faint, in the shadow of his smile. Anika turned to walk again, but Malcolm pulled her back gently, wrapping his arms around her as they both looked down the path. They stood like that for a little while – a perfect little winter portrait of a man and woman under the stars, and Anika felt relaxed for the first time since the party started. "I'm sorry that you had to come back just to stand around and watch Lucious chase women all night."

"What, and miss the proposal of the century?" Malcolm gave Anika an understanding smile as they began to walk again. "Try not to be so hard on Lucious, Anika," he said generously. "You know that he would trade all of these women tonight for just five minutes alone with Cookie. This can't be easy for him."

"It's not easy for me, either," Anika pointed out bitterly.

"True, but Lucious isn't your lifelong love."

"It's not my fault that I'm not Cookie, Malcolm," Anika said hotly. "There was a time when I used to be good enough for him, you know. There was a time when Lucious loved me, Malcolm, and I loved him, too. I loved him, Malcolm! And for him to treat me like this..." Anika stopped walking again. "If it weren't for you and Bella-" Anika's voice hitched, and tears came to her eyes despite all she did to keep them from falling. "-God, I don't think I'd be able to stand it here."

Malcolm was at a loss, watching Anika cry. He could deal with IEDs and claymore mines and grenades, but weeping women triggered some not-so-great memories inside of him. Women clinging to him, sobbing out of fear and agony. Besides, Malcolm always thought Anika was stronger than this. Seeing her cry was surprising. Malcolm removed his handkerchief from his pocket and dabbed her eyes. "Anika, don't let people tell you what's best for you and your daughter. You're _not_ stupid. You're doing what's best for Bella."

"I am, Malcolm, I really am," Anika said hurriedly. "It's not about the money, really, it's not."

"I know that. If you ever figure out a way that's better, I know you'll jump all over it. When you do, I'll be here for you. And even if you don't, I'll still be here for you."

"That is the kindest thing anyone has ever said to me since I married Lucious." Anika reached out and stroked Malcolm's cheek. "Other than Bella, you truly are the most wonderful person in my life." She gave Malcolm a small, sad smile, her tear-filled eyes shining in the moonlight. "I thank God for you, Malcolm," she said, her voice quivering with gratitude. "I really do."

"Aw...thank you." Malcolm took Anika into his arms and gave her the warmest, most secure hug. Anika rested her head against his chest. The winter chill felt wonderful combined with the warmth from Malcolm's body, and the clean, crisp smell of pine and snow complimented the clean, crisp smell of Malcolm's aftershave. Anika felt secure here, safe, even loved at this moment.

And then Malcolm kissed her. He kissed the small scar over Anika's eyebrow. He kissed the bridge of her freckled nose. He tilted Anika's chin and kissed her lips. The salty taste of Anika's tears mingled with the sweet taste of spearmint and the softness of Malcolm's mouth. But before Anika could cry out or protest or grab Malcolm's belt and fling it into the snow-covered bushes, Malcolm pulled back. "I shouldn't have done that," he blurted, shaking his head. "Oh, fuck. _Fuck_. Anika I'm so-"

Anika didn't let him finish. Grabbing the back of his head, Anika jerked Malcolm's face to hers and kissed him with every fiber of her being. She didn't know where this rush of passion was coming from - abandonment, resentment, probably alcohol - but she didn't fight it, either. Malcolm broke away from Anika again. "Malcolm, it's okay-" Anika began.

"I shouldn't have _done_ that," Malcolm said more forcefully, as if he was trying to convince himself and not Anika that what he'd done was wrong. "I'm sorry...I'm sorry," Malcolm apologized again. "We should get back."

"Alright." Anika swallowed the knot in her throat along with her tears and Malcolm's spearmint taste. They didn't even look at one another on the long, quiet trek back to the mansion. But when they spotted Lucious barreling towards them at a breakneck speed, his eyes filled with pure rage, Malcolm put his arm protectively across Anika's body as he stepped forward, praying that he could spare Lucious's wife from his fury.

* * *

Janet Jackson put it best: Cookie wanted Angelo any time, any place. Tonight was no different.

The first chance she got, Cookie was slipping off the dance floor with Angelo, practically dragging him down the hall while she fumbled with his belt buckle. One wouldn't think it to see him, but Angelo was a magnificent lover. Not only was his stroke game first class, Angelo's tongue game was magnificent. "Cookie," Angelo gasped as Cookie pushed him through a familiar pair of doors. "There have to be cameras all over Lucious's office..."

Of _course_ there were cameras all over Lucious's office. That was the best part. "Well, let's give 'em a good show." Cookie lifted her dress, straddled Angelo's lap and slowly made her way down his length. "Ooh, is that a ring in your pocket or are you happy to see me?" she cooed, kissing his neck as he fisted her hair.

Angelo pushed the top of Cookie's dress off her shoulders. "I guess you'll find out soon, won't you?"

Later, after they were both sated and getting dressed, Angelo came behind Cookie and kissed the back of her neck. "You're glowing," Angelo admired as the two of them straightened their clothes. "You're the most beautiful woman in the room. In the _world_."

"Thank you." Cookie pulled Angelo in for one more kiss, and Angelo palmed Cookie's ass in that way that made her so hot. Sex in Lucious's office. And the night was going to get better.

Unfortunately, it was bound to get much worse first. Cookie and Angelo had barely made it back into the dance floor before Cookie spotted a commotion that she just _knew_ had Lucious Lyon dead in the center of it. "What's going on?" Cookie asked, trying to push her way to the center of the brouhaha.

"It's Dad," Jamal said worriedly. "He saw Anika walking up the steps with Malcolm and just lost his mind."

It was worse than Cookie could've imagined – Lucious with a tight grip on Anika's arm while Malcolm and Hakeem trying to neutralize the situation, to no avail. "...didn't mean to cause any trouble," Malcolm was saying. "Please don't be mad at Anika, Lucious – this is my fault."

"That's _Mr. Lyon,_ motherfucker! Lucious pushed past his sons and got so close to Malcolm that their chests touched. "You know, you're starting to get a little too goddamn familiar around here," he said so loudly that the stage performers stopped playing. Around them, the crowd began to murmur.

"Oh, Lucious, _you_ told him to call you by your first name!" Cookie said forcefully. "And maybe if you weren't running around with other women, you'd have time to dance with your wife."

Lucious looked at Anika as if her presence suddenly meant something. "Oh, you wanna dance?" Lucious took Anika roughly by the arm, and Malcolm's coat fell to the floor. "Fine. Let's dance."

Anika pulled away. "Don't put your hands on me!" Furious, Lucious drunkenly grabbed for Anika again, who jerked away. "Get away from me, Lucious! _Stop it!"_

Lucious lunged for Anika, but ran smack into Malcolm. He tried to grab her again, and Malcolm blocked him for a second time. "Get out of my way," Lucious slurred drunkenly, determined to get to Anika at any cost.

"I can't do that, sir."

"I said _move_ , motherfucker." Lucious stumbled towards Anika a third time, and Malcolm blocked him yet again. "You think you can tell me what to do in my house, you black sonuvabitch?" Lucious demanded, growing louder and more belligerent. "Or did you forget that Anika is _my_ wife?"

"I didn't forget that Anika is your wife," Malcolm answered evenly. "I'm just surprised that _you_ finally remembered."

Cookie held her breath. Malcolm said out loud what everybody had been thinking, even if it was completely out of character for a man like him. No way Lucious was going to let him get away with that, especially not in front of their sons. Lucious took another step forward and stood toe-to-toe with Malcolm. "You got 24 hours to get your shit and get out of my house," Lucious said slowly. "You're fired."

"No, you're not," Cookie said before anyone could protest. Lucious whirled around as Cookie went on. "Malcolm's contract says that me and you both have to agree to terminate him, Lucious, and I'm not giving Malcolm up because you're a hater." Malcolm's contract said no such thing, but Lucious didn't know that. "He stays."

Lucious turned to tell Cookie to mind her own business, but when he saw the familiar sparkle in Cookie's eyes and the way her skin glowed, he felt like crying. Cookie used to look that way around Lucious all the time, so many years ago. Even now, even with Cookie being Angelo's woman, Lucious still couldn't say no to her. Slowly, Lucious picked Malcolm's coat from off the ground. He turned to Malcolm and jerked his head over to a large, unlit area of the Lyon estate. "Go patrol the gardens and the pool area," he ordered, trying to save face.

There was nobody in the gardens or the pool area, and no reason to be in that area. Malcolm acquiesced anyway. "Yes, sir." He reached for his coat, then grit his teeth as Lucious dropped it back to the ground, stepping on it as he left.

"I'll go with you, Malcolm." Cookie practically dragged Malcolm away, leaving Anika to dance with Angelo and Lucious to stew in his own illogical hatred. "Don't start with me, Angelo," Anika warned before the future mayor could say a word. "I'm going to dance with whoever I want, and I'm going to wear what I want." Hot, angry tears filled Anika's eyes. "Lucious can go be with all the women he wants to be with tonight. I don't care!"

"I know you don't care. And I know you _do_ care." Angelo took out his handkerchief and dabbed the tears from Anika's eyes. He offered his arm to Anika, who took it just as she'd taken Malcolm's arm not even 20 minutes prior. "It's okay to be hurt, Anika, but maybe you need to watch it."

"Watch what?"

"The way you and Malcolm look at each other," Angelo said knowingly.

Anika hadn't taken her eyes off him since Cookie dragged him away. Just hearing his name made Anika's heart quicken. "He's my friend," she pointed out. "He's the only friend I have here in this godforsaken place."

"I'm your friend, too," Angelo countered. "But you don't turn this red when someone says my name. I'm kind of jealous," he added, chucking Anika under her chin and extracting a tiny smile from her. "But I'm afraid that Lucious is going to lash out at you again. Especially now that Malcolm is involved."

"Involved?" asked Anika. "How? This is between me and Lucious."

"Don't think Lucious forgot what happened at the singalong a couple of weeks ago. Then you got his A-list roster blacklisting him ...now Malcolm standing up to him and saying what's on everybody's mind. Lucious is not in a good head space right now, Anika. And once I ask Cookie to marry me, I'm afraid that the way Malcolm protects you is really going to set him off."

The pending wrath of Lucious was the last thing Anika was concerned with. "I knew it!" She clapped her hands together and tried to calm down. "I knew you were going to propose to Cookie tonight, Angelo!"

"Actually, I didn't know if I was going to propose tonight or tomorrow at the inauguration. But tonight is as good as any night." Angelo shot Anika a look that let her know that her walk with Malcolm was a factor in his decision. "I was going to wait until midnight, but I think this is a good a time as..." Angelo's voice trailed as he looked over at Malcolm, who was going off into the woods, minus Cookie. "...as any," he finished sadly, watching Cookie's back as she dragged Lucious back to the very place Angelo and she had just come from.

* * *

No sooner had Cookie dragged Lucious into his office than she slapped him across the face. _"What is wrong with you!?"_ she screamed as Lucious held his jaw, shooting daggers in Cookie's direction. "How many times do we have to say this? Anika is your wife. You can't go treating her like that!"

Lucious said nothing. He just walked around his office breathing deeply while Cookie berated him at the top of her voice. "You fucked him," he finally said, cutting Cookie off. "You fucked that bastard...in here. In my office."

"I don't know what you're-"

"Shut up!" Cookie jumped back as Lucious's hand shot across his desk, knocking everything over. "You fucked him! In my home! _In my office!_ You filthy, _nasty_ little bitch!"

"Who you callin' a-" Cookie reached to hit Lucious again, but Lucious grabbed Cookie's arm, easily blocking her blow. "Don't lie to me! _Don't lie to me!_ You were fucking that punk Lorenzo right here in my office!"

 _"His name is Angelo!"_ Cookie screamed, struggling to get out of his grasp. "You know his name! He's my boyfriend, and he's about to be my fianceé, and you are not going to fuck this up for me, Lucious!"

Lucious eased his grip, but didn't let Cookie go. "Please don't marry him, Cookie," Lucious begged, walking Cookie backwards, up against his now-cleared desk. "Please don't say yes."

"What are you talking about?" Cookie said weakly, but Lucious was already kissing Cookie's neck and face, and Cookie made no move to stop him. "Don't marry him," he pleaded with Cookie. "Tell me what you want...I'll do anything for you, Cookie. Just _don't marry Angelo."_

"I love Angelo," Cookie protested. By that time, she was returning Lucious's kisses. Lucious propped Cookie up on his desk, and it was Cookie who jerked her own skirt up for the second time that night. Kicking off her shoes, Cookie shamelessly spread her legs open while Lucious knelt between them, working his lips and tongue as if his life depended on it - which, in a way, it did.

"Lucious! Oh, my God...what are you doing to me?" Like Cookie didn't know. Even before they were married, Lucious was skilled in bringing Cookie to an orgasm without taking off his pants. Lucious never minded when Cookie wound her hands in his hair and hung on for all it was worth. "Why do you always do this to me?" she whimpered in his ear as Lucious's fingers slid further and further inside of her.

"Because I love you. I'll always love you, Cookie." Lucious took his fingers from between Cookie's legs and thrust them in her mouth. Cookie's juices were still dripping down her chin as she jerked Lucious to her and kissed him passionately. The future mayor of New York was about to propose to her and Cookie couldn't have given less of a damn, not right then. Yes, she'd just fucked Angelo not even 10 minutes ago, but Lucious's grasp was rougher. Hotter. The way she liked it. Lucious Lyon was the only man who could blow her mind _and_ her back out.

"Condom," Cookie murmured in Lucious's ear when Lucious finally let her up.

"What?" Lucious was dumbstruck. "Cookie, we ain't never used a rubber in our lives."

"Things are different now," Cookie said tersely. _Like my man is in the other room waiting for me._ "How many hoes have you fucked tonight? Either get a condom or I'm out of here."

Lucious was too hard and horny to argue the matter. Quickly, he found a condom in his desk. Cookie snatched it out of his hands. "Let me," she cooed, and her hands felt so good rolling it up his dick that Lucious nearly came right then and there.

Cookie gave a little smirk that showed who was in charge. "Girl, you better turn around and bend the fuck over." It was time for Cookie to remember who was in charge around here. Cookie rolled over on her stomach without argument and stood with her legs apart, arching her back. But before Lucious could even line his dick up to Cookie's cunt, Cookie's voice cut through the air. "Stop. _Stop."_

Cookie's eyes were focusing on a simmering heap in the fireplace - a large lump of green in a sea of ash. A few inches to the right was a faded picture. "Where yuh goin'?" Lucious mumbled as Cookie stood up and walked towards the fireplace. "What the-Cookie, whatchu doin'?"

Cookie stooped down and took the faded picture in her hand. "Is this..." Cookie's eyes traveled to another picture, one that had slid underneath the woodpile. It, too, looked familiar. "Cookie," Lucious said weakly as Cookie picked it up and turned it over. Standing to her feet, Cookie used the fire poker to nudge the still-warm ashes to the side and gasped at what she saw. Cookie would know that faded green cover from the cheap photo album that Carol had saved all her lunch money to buy them for a wedding gift anywhere. _He just threw our pictures in the fire like they were trash..._

"Cookie, I can explain..." Lucious tried, but Cookie didn't answer. Tears streamed from her face as she jerked away from Lucious and reached for her dress. _"Get cho hands off me!"_ she screamed when Lucious reached for her, and she found herself swinging at him with everything in her body. "How could you, Lucious!? _How could you!?"_

"Cookie, I was drunk! I was mad..." Lucious grabbed Cookie again, holding her naked body against his as she cried and cried. For a minute, she forgot that Lucious was the cause of all the pain she was feeling. "Cookie, please. I know you have some of our pictures. We'll make copies-I promise I'll never-"

"You promise! _You promise!"_ Now they were back to reality. "Just like you promised you wouldn't abandon me when I went to prison! Or like you promised you were going to ditch Anika, right?" Cookie struck Lucious over and over again, just like she'd longed to do almost every day for those 17 years she served in prison. "Your promises don't mean _shit_ , Lucious! Not to me, not to Anika, not to your sons - **nobody!"**

Defeated, Lucious could only duck blows and shield himself as Cookie unleashed her rage until she got tired. Lucious didn't begrudge Cookie a single blow. He knew he deserved every one of them. As Cookie got dressed and put herself together as best as she could, Lucious plopped down in his chair, still naked, breathing in the scent of Cookie's once-willing body. "You don't love him, Cookie," Lucious said dully. "You'll never love him like you love me."

"You know what, Lucious? You're right. I don't love Angelo like I loved you. And that's a goddamned shame, because he deserves so much better." Cookie put on her pumps and opened the door. "But know this: I'm going to work as hard as I can to be the kind of woman and the kind of wife that he deserves." Cookie smoothed her dress out. "And just remember one thing, Lucious," she called over her shoulder. "No matter how much or how little I love Angelo, _I hate you."_

If Cookie's voice hadn't cracked when she said it, Lucious might've actually believed her. As it was, he just smiled in the darkness, letting the heat from the smoldering ashes dry the sweat from his still-willing body. He had no idea how long Cookie was going to play this game, but Lucious knew one thing for certain: Cookie would never be the First Lady of New York City, not for one day of her life.

* * *

"Shh! Cookie's coming over here."

Anika put on her best casual look, trying to suppress her excitement as Cookie came back over to join her fianceé and her granddaughter's mother. "Where's Malcolm?" Anika asked. "Is he back yet?" _So much for watching it._

Cookie shook her head. "I told Malcolm he didn't have to go on that stupid patrol, but I think he just wants some time to himself. If you call him and a bunch of his agents 'alone,' I guess. As long as he's back inside the house by midnight, he'll be fine."

"What happens at midnight?" Anika asked. "Other than the New Year, of course."

"Fireworks," Cookie answered. "Malcolm doesn't like fireworks, so I made sure to write up the security schedule so that he'll be inside when they start going off. I got him scheduled from 10:30 to 1:30, just to be sure."

"I had an uncle who couldn't stand to be around fireworks," Angelo remembered. "He would hit the ground and roll under the table and everything. It was like he was right back in 'Nam. Scary stuff...real bad." Angelo took Cookie's hand in his, kissed it, and smiled. "My baby's so smart. Sexy, too." Anika smiled as the couple took to the dance floor once again. If anybody deserved a man to treat her right, Cookie did.

Anika's happiness died when she saw Lucious, his eyes glassy and his body tense. It was obvious that Cookie had gone upside, downside and across Lucious's head, for his face showed all the signs of a beatdown. But was that all they'd done? Looking at Cookie's tousled hair and slightly wrinkled dress, Anika realized that she didn't want to know.

When Lucious began to make his way towards the happy couple, Anika swiftly walked up to Lucious and held out her hand for him to take. She hated the idea of faking her way through a dance neither of them wanted to do, but she would do it for Cookie's sake. Lucious must've felt the same way, for he gave Anika a withering look before turning his back and walking away from her, leaving Anika alone in the middle of the floor.

(end of chapter three, part 1 of 2)


	4. For Auld Lang Syne, My Dear

Anika wasn't surprised when she saw Lucious standing at the door of the nursery when she came out of her bedroom, Bella's diaper bag packed up for Cookie. "So you came yourself," Anika commented. "I thought you would've sent Cookie to talk me out of this."

"You look nice," Lucious commented pleasantly. "Going somewhere?"

"You know where I'm going, Lucious," Anika was in no mood for any of Lucious's games. "You know where I'm going and you know who I'm going with."

"I do?" Lucious leaned against the doorjamb. "Humor me. Where are you going?"

 _Here we go._ "I am going to the film festival with Malcolm at the Lincoln Center," Anika said slowly. "We will probably get something to eat after that. I should be home around midnight...unless Malcolm spends the night with me in the guest house tonight."

Lucious pretended to be confused. "I don't remember approving any of this, Anika."

"That's because I didn't ask you." Anika busied herself checking and double checking Bella's bag. Diapers, bibs, onesies, toys, books...one would think Anika was packing up Bella's things to go live with Cookie permanently.

"Don't you think it's kind of a bad look, having you out in public with another man?" Lucious asked, pretending to sound concerned about the respectability of the Lyon name.

"No worse than all the women you parade around with. And who's going to recognize me, Lucious?" While Lucious could be seen gallivanting all over the place with other women, Mrs. Lucious Lyon better not be seen with another man, ever. With a reddish-blonde wig and the most casual, nondescript clothes Anika could find – old jeans, plain sweater, sneakers and just a little lip gloss – Anika wouldn't attract any attention to herself.

"I still don't think it's a good idea. Can't you and Malcolm rent a few flicks?" Lucious suggested helpfully. "I'll even spring for the snacks."

"No, thank you," Anika brushed past Lucious to make her way into her kitchen. Lucious followed Anika. "How come you didn't invite me?" he asked in a half-mocking tone. "I'm hurt."

"It's in French," Anika said tersely. "Look, what's your problem with Malcolm? Like he said, this was what you wanted anyway."

"I don't have any problems with Malcolm," Lucious denied. "I have a problem with my wife going out in public with another man."

"Or maybe you don't like that Malcolm is a man who is kind to me," Anika shot back. "Or that he's trustworthy and honest-"

 _"Honest?"_ Lucious whooped. "Really, Anika? The first time Malcolm hit it was on _Valentine's Day?"_

"Well..." Anika faltered. "Mostly honest. That's way more than what can be said about you." Anika reached into the refrigerator and took out bottles of breast milk and a few of Bella's favorite snacks. "Lucious, I've done _everything_ you've asked of me. Why can't I even go to a goddamned film festival without you bitching about it?"

"You can go to the festival," Lucious said magnanimously. "But if you think I'm going to let you out that door to go out on a date with Malcolm, you don't know me very well."

"I'm going, Lucious." Anika slung Bella's baby bag over her shoulder. "Will you move?" she asked when Lucious blocked Anika's way. "You're in my way. Cookie will be here any minute." She tried to walk past Lucious, but he blocked her way again. Lucious smiled as Anika stepped away from the kitchen door, defeated. "Now," he ordered. "Call Malcolm and tell him that you don't feel good-"

In a flash, Anika pulled a butcher knife out of a small drawer. Lucious jumped back as Anika walked towards Lucious, the knife aimed straight for his groin. "Let's get something straight here," Anika said, gripping the knife tight in her hand. "I am leaving this house _tonight_. I might leave with Malcolm, or I might leave with the police, or I might leave in a body bag. But I am walking out that front door, Lucious. You will _not_ hold me hostage here."

"You need to put that down," Lucious said, his voice shaking a bit as he walked backwards, "before somebody gets hurt."

"Then get the hell out of my way," Anika countered. Lucious backed up far enough for Anika to leave the kitchen, all the way to the sitting foyer. A part of Anika wanted to plunge the knife deep into Lucious's heart, then slash him from belly to balls if she needed to. Without the slightest hesitation, she would stab him, slash him, kill him...

"Anika?" Hakeem called from the crib room. "I'm here for Bella's stuff."

With Hakeem at the door, Lucious was forced to back off. Anika set her knife down, surprised at how her hand was shaking. She took a few breaths to calm herself down before entering the crib room, Bella's bag still on her shoulder. "There's Mama's baby!" Anika greeted Hakeem and Bella, reaching for her daughter. Bella's face screwed up, then she let out a wail. "Bella! Oh, what's wrong?" But Bella wouldn't stop crying, and she began to fight Anika when she tried to take her from Hakeem. "Bella! Bella, what's gotten into you?"

"She probably doesn't recognize you with that ugly mop on." Lucious snatched Anika's wig off her head and tossed it across the room.

"Aw, I like it." Cookie said from the door. She tickled Bella underneath her chin and took the diaper bag from Hakeem. "See, Bella? Mommy's here, Mommy's back." Now that Anika was recognizable again, Bella stopped crying and put her thumb in her mouth. "How much stuff did you pack, Anika?" Cookie asked. "We're only going downstairs and across the hall."

"I've never left her alone before," Anika said sadly, wanting to take Bella out of Hakeem's arms and cuddle, but knowing that it was best not to.

Cookie took a couple of steps back and eyed Anika up and down. "Damn, girl," she said, half with envy and half with annoyance, "could those jeans get any tighter?"

"They're already too big on me." Between yoga, running and nursing Bella, Anika's baby weight had melted off, leaving behind the breasts, hips and butt she'd longed for all her life. It all felt strange, especially when Anika fought to keep her breasts in her bra, and she had a dip in the back of her jeans that drove her crazy. Still, Anika liked her new body.

"Your blouse is so tight I can see when Bella's next meal is going to be ready," Lucious groused. "Change it."

"Oh, give it a rest, old head." Cookie plopped Anika's wig on Bella's head. Bella shook her head vigorously, trying to uncover her eyes, and everybody laughed. "Anika can't help it if she got that snapback body. Hell, I think I'm still carrying all my baby weight from when Hakeem was born."

"That's not baby weight," Lucious quipped. "That's just weight, baby."

"Uh-huh, and you like it, too." Cookie playfully shoved Lucious, who tried to draw her in for a kiss. Such disrespect wasn't lost on Anika, who tried to ignore it as Cookie ducked her head and laughed. "Go on, Anika!" Cookie urged. "Enjoy your film festival while I put my grandbaby to sleep. Malcolm's downstairs waiting."

Lucious took Anika's wig off Bella's head and shook it. "You want Chewbacca back?" he asked disdainfully.

Anika looked at Bella, who was drifting off to sleep, her head on her father's shoulder. No way she was going to wear anything that made her daughter cry. "Keep it. I'm gone." She was so close to the door, so close to leaving, just like Lucious said she wouldn't. So close to winning...

"Anika," Cookie called when Anika was nearly out the door.

Anika turned around. "Yeah?"

"You look good, Mama." Cookie's voice was friendly, but there was no smile on her face.

"Thanks," Anika answered, just as cordially. She wasn't smiling either, not until she got down the stairs and saw Malcolm standing there, handsome as always. "Ready?" he asked, a big smile on his face, as if he couldn't believe they were actually going out, either.

"Let's get out of here," Anika took Malcolm's hand and half-dragged him out the door. "Dang, Anika!" Malcolm laughed as they dashed down the driveway to Malcolm's truck. "You're really looking forward to this, aren't you?"

"You have no idea." Anika hugged herself with pleasure as Malcolm opened the door for her, then helped her inside like a true gentleman. He kissed Anika on the cheek as he buckled her in, his eyes sparkling. A date! A date with his lady somewhere other than the track or the sitting room in the nursery. Truth be told, Malcolm was almost as excited as Anika was. More than anything, he wanted Anika to have a great time. If she did, maybe she would consider... _Stop Malcolm,_ Malcolm told himself. _Let's just get through tonight._

Looking out the passenger door window, Anika saw Lucious, Cookie and Hakeem all in the driveway, as if Anika was going on her first date. She smiled when she saw Hakeem, now wearing Anika's wig. Cookie was holding Bella up, waving her little hand, and that made Anika smile, too. But it was Lucious who caught and held Anika's gaze as Malcolm drove away. His eyes said it all: _you're going to pay for this._ Anika quickly looked away, trying to relax as Malcolm pulled out of the driveway. Because if there was anybody on earth who could hold a grudge, God knew it was Lucious Lyon.

* * *

Cookie had long dreamed of the night when Angelo would ask her to be Mrs. Angelo DuBois, and Angelo wasn't exactly a man of mystery. New Year's Eve was the perfect night for Angelo to ask Cookie to be his wife. When there was an announcement made for all the guests to please join Mr. and Mrs. Lucious Lyon out on the back center lawn, Cookie knew what was about to happen.

After checking up on Bella – and pretending that she didn't see how red and swollen Anika's eyes were – Cookie, Bella and Anika came down to the lawn to find Angelo surrounded by a group of men who were grinning and nudging him in the ribs. Everybody knew it was coming, but Cookie still choked up when Angelo went to one knee and poured his heart out about how much he loved her and wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. "Loretha Holloway Lyon, will you marry me?" Angelo asked, then opened the small ring box in his hand to reveal his mother's wedding ring.

By reflex, Cookie's eyes flicked over to Lucious. He'd known it was coming, just like Cookie did, but it still hit him like a sledgehammer. Cookie felt a pang in her heart when she saw the pain in his eyes, as if he couldn't believe that Cookie had actually moved on. Then Cookie remembered that Lucious had burned all their wedding pictures. Determined, Cookie pushed all her negative thoughts out the way. For once, Cookie was going to think of Cookie first. "Yes! I'll marry you, Angelo. I'll marry you!"

Cheers rose up in the night crowd as Angelo got back to his feet. He kissed Cookie long and deep before sliding the engagement ring on Cookie's finger. The ring was fabulous. Angelo's words and his eyes were filled with love and sincerity. She was surrounded with family and friends. So why did Cookie feel so uneasy?

"Yeah! Alright, now!" Lucious had put his public face back on. "Now there's a reason for a celebration!" Lucious beamed, even shaking hands with Angelo before pulling him into an embrace. "Angelo, man, I wish you and Cookie all the best. I hope you have the kind of love I share with my beautiful wife, Anika."

 _God forbid,_ Anika thought. But even though many of the guests had witnessed Lucious yelling at her not even half an hour ago, she played her part to perfection. Smiles, all smiles and kisses and pictures. "Congratulations, Cookie," Anika said warmly, and they hugged and kissed just as they had on Christmas Eve. But Cookie could hear the trepidation in Anika's voice, could see it in her eyes. Something just wasn't right about this whole scenario.

Like Cookie, Anika willed her negative feelings away and tried to stay in the here and now. "Say 'Happy New Year,' Grandma!" Anika prompted and handed Bella to her grandmother. "You ready to be a grandpa, Angelo?" Anika asked good-naturedly as Cookie bounced a happy Bella on her hip.

"I think it'll look good on me." Angelo tickled Bella under her chin, smiling as Bella grabbed Angelo's finger and jammed it into her mouth, like she did with everything else. "Even if I've never been a father. Cookie, what do you think?"

"I think everything looks good on you, Angelo," Cookie admired. "But not as good as this ring on my finger!" Laughing and kissing her new fiancée, Cookie finally began to relax. Even Lucious didn't seem too upset. Cookie knew how hurt he was, but it finally seemed as if Lucious was putting Cookie's happiness over his love for her. Or maybe he knew how angry Cookie was at him and he knew that he had no chance to be with her ever again. Either way, Cookie didn't care. Dancing with Angelo for the first time as his fiancée, Cookie finally felt happy and free.

She should've known it wouldn't last.

 **BOOM.**

"What the...?" Anika asked as fireworks – more like explosions – caused Bella to bury her face in her mother's chest while she screamed and screamed. This was only Cookie's second New Year's party with Empire, but Anika's sixth. Anika could remember a time when she couldn't wait to kiss Lucious as the first set of fireworks kissed the sky, signaling the beginning of a new year. Tonight, the sky lacked the bright, beautiful patterns and colors from years past. These fireworks were intense, erratic and _very_ loud.

 **BOOM** **_._ BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. **

Lucious squinted as he looked at the sky. "What's going on?" he asked. "It's not midnight yet – somebody turn those fireworks off."

"Lucious!" Cookie yelled over the noise. "Where the hell did you get these fireworks, man? It's like we're back in the hood or something. Get Bella inside before those fireworks damage her ears."

 _Pheeeeewwwww..._ **BOOM** _._

Angelo checked his watch. A quarter to nine. Too early for the fireworks, _way_ too early. "Like the hood," Angelo said slowly. He turned and looked Lucious square in the eye. "Or like a war zone."

 _Malcolm._ By the time his name flashed across Anika's mind, Cookie was halfway across the lawn towards the unlit pool area, stumbling through the unfamiliar brush that seemed to swallow her like a forest. In the summer, the area was perfectly landscaped and cut, but Lucious let it grow wild when it got cold. "Malcolm!" Cookie yelled. "Malcolm! Where are you?"

 **BOOM**.

Cookie's mind raced with the memory of Malcolm running at three in the morning with no shoes or shirt in an attempt to clear his head after a horrible nightmare. All Cookie could do was watch helplessly until Malcolm finally collapsed in the snow, shaking and crying. And that was under _optimal_ circumstances. What was racing through Malcolm's head out in the dark while fireworks were shooting off in the sky?

 **BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.** Now the fireworks were starting, lighting up the sky and adding to the chaos. _Rat-a-tat-tat. Pheeeeewwwww_... **BOOM.**

Cookie followed the sounds of walkie-talkies and male voices growing louder and more frenzied. She heard his name over and over: "Malcolm!" "Malcolm!" Anika's voice joined them, then Hakeem and Lucious. "Malcolm!" "Malcolm!" Cookie followed the voices and the lights, ignoring the sounds of her dress ripping and the shouting of the people behind her. "Malcolm! _Malcolm!"_

 _Pheeeeewwwww_... **BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.** _Rat-a-tat-tat. Pheeeeewwwww_... **BOOM.**

Finally, Cookie came across four of Malcolm's agents struggling to hold Malcolm down. It made Cookie think of police officers and dying black men. "What are you doing!? You're hurting him!" Cookie screamed. She pounded her fists against Agent Michael Cooper, who winced under the blows. "Let him go, Cooper! Stop it!"

"We can't, Ms. Lyon," Agent Chris Spencer said sympathetically. "He's trying to jump into the pool to block out the sound." The pool, like the rest of the garden area, was untreated and pitch black. The thought of Malcolm at the bottom of a toxic mix of chemicals and deep, filthy water made Cookie's blood run cold. If Malcolm made it to the bottom of that pool, he would never come out alive.

"I thought Malcolm had his earplugs with him?" Anika asked breathlessly, finally making it through the brush with the Lyon men in tow. She didn't feel the cold on her arms or the snow on her back or under her knees as she fell to the ground to support Malcolm's head. All Anika felt was terror.

"He did," Agent Robert Torres confirmed. "When the fireworks went off, he tried to put them on. But they just kept coming and coming and he dropped them. We tried to find them with our flashlights, and then Mal just took off towards the pool."

"Wait a minute. Are you telling me that my head of security is trying to kill himself over some fireworks?" Lucious demanded. "He's supposed to be protecting me and mine and he can't even handle some damn sparklers?"

"Oh, Lucious, _shut up!_ " Cookie shouted as Malcolm continued to writhe on the ground, gasping for air. "Shut up and go turn off those damn fireworks!"

"I can't," Lucious groaned. "They're timed. Someone must've set the clock wrong or turned them on by accident." _Rat-a-tat-tat. Pheeeeewwwww..._ **BOOM.** Malcolm thrashed about wildly. His men struggled to hold him down, but Anika could see how exhausted they were. "Malcolm. Malcolm." Anika cupped Malcolm's face in her hands. "Malcolm, _écoute moi_ (listen to me)."

Even in the midst of Malcolm's mental break, Anika's voice touched a place in Malcolm's troubled mind. "Huh?" he asked, frozen in place for the first time all night.

[Malcolm, we're going to get you through this, okay?] Anika stroked Malcolm's cheek and tried to keep her voice level. [They're just fireworks, Malcolm. Everything is fine. You're safe.]

"No." Malcolm shook his head furiously. "No...Anika, you gotta get out of here..." **BOOM**. "Anika, go! Run!" _Pheeeeewwwww..._ **BOOM.** _"Get down!"_ Malcolm yelled, and he sat up so fast that he nearly took two of his men down with him. "Clear out! _Clear out!"_ His hands began to move wildly. _Oh, God,_ Anika realized. _He's going for his gun._

Anika quickly took Malcolm's hands into her own. [Stay with me, Malcolm!] Malcolm kept shaking his head _no_. "Get out of here," he mumbled over and over. "You gotta go, Anika...clear out. Get out of here..."

[Malcolm, you're safe! They're fireworks! That's all it is, Malcolm. Just stay with me for now,] Anika pleaded. [Don't listen to anything except for my voice, okay?]

"I can't breathe, Anika...oh, God." Malcolm squeezed his eyes closed, and Anika was horrified to see tears forming in the corners of his eyes. [Anika, I can't breathe.] He tried gulping air down, to no avail. Anika quickly loosened Malcolm's tie, but it was useless. **BOOM. BOOM.** _Phewwww_... **BOOM**.

Anika heard a rustle next to her. "It's alright, man," Lucious said before Anika could ask him what he was still doing outside, rather than back up at the house trying to turn off the fireworks. "We're gonna get you through this. Angelo just went to turn the fireworks off. It'll all be over soon. Just stay calm, okay? Do you know where you are?" Heavy breathing and whimpering was Malcolm's only response. "Anika, ask Malcolm if he knows where he is."

"Malcolm, _savez-vous où vous êtes?_ "

"I-I..." Malcolm swallowed more air and tried to calm himself. "I'm in New York." Then he let out a stream of French so fast that Anika couldn't keep up. "Malcolm, slow down. _Je ne comprends pas_ (I don't understand). _"_

"What's he saying?" Lucious asked.

"I said..." _Phewwww._.. **BOOM**. "I'm so-I'm sorry about this, Mr. Lyon," Malcolm panted. He struggled to sit up, but his agents still held him down. "I failed you-I failed your family. You hired me to protect your family, and I did not do my duty."

"It's Lucious. Call me Lucious." To Anika's surprise, Lucious took a seat on the cold, hard ground next to Malcolm. "Look, I won't even pretend to know what you're going through right now. But I know what it's like to hear bullets going off and not being able to do anything about it. You'll get through this, Malcolm. You're a warrior. More of a warrior than I'll ever be."

It was strange to hear Lucious and Malcolm talking together as the fireworks boomed on and on. It was stranger to see Cookie hovering around the two of them, trying not to cry. _Why does she care?_ Anika thought. _She barely knows Malcolm._ Anika kept Malcolm's head in her lap, translating when she needed to, while Lucious kept Malcolm calm. "He still has his gun," Anika whispered to Lucious.

His eyes grew wide, but Lucious stayed calm. "Malcolm, I'ma need you to stay still for a minute while I get your piece, okay? Just for safety's sake." Malcolm closed his eyes and nodded, staying perfectly still as he informed Lucious where his gun was. Lucious extracted it and quickly handed it to Torres. Now everybody could breathe.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, the explosions stopped. "He did it!" Lucious commented brightly. "The mayor came through!" Angelo was greeted with applause when he rushed around the corner with a pair of medics holding bright lights. "You okay, man?" Angelo called. "Let's get you inside, okay? Get you off this cold ground and in the heat."

"I'm fine." But Malcolm was blinking rapidly, and when he stood up, he began to stumble. "Malcolm, go ahead and take the rest of the night off," Lucious suggested.

"Can we just kill this party instead, Lucious?" Cookie asked, exhausted from the day's events. "It's dead anyway."

"That sounds like a plan." Lucious stood and brushed his pants. Malcolm began to mumble again, and Lucious caught up to Malcolm and took a hold of his hand. "I'm here, man," he promised as they walked away. "I ain't goin' anywhere. Don't worry. We got you."

As the medics and the agents walked Malcolm away and Anika went to fetch Bella, Cookie hugged Angelo tightly. "My man is a hero," she bragged, kissing him squarely on the lips. But Angelo didn't smile. "How did you manage to get the fireworks turned off?" she asked as they walked arm-in-arm back to the mansion.

Angelo shrugged. "I looked at the switch that said 'on' and I flicked it to 'off'. Of course, I guess if I couldn't read, I could've just unplugged the rack and left it at that."

"I don't understand," Cookie said slowly. "I thought the fireworks were timed?"

"They _are_ timed, Cookie" Angelo confirmed. "And if you need to turn them off for whatever reason, you throw the emergency switch. Or you unplug them completely. Anybody could've done it, even you."

Cookie looked over at Lucious, who had Malcolm's arm looped around his shoulder, helping him back to the house. "You're telling me that all Lucious had to do..."

"...was turn the rack off, yes," Angelo finished. "Oh, and it would've helped if Lucious hadn't ordered artillery shells along with standard issue fireworks. But when you're trying to fuck with a war vet, I guess that's the kind of shit you do."

"Wait a minute, Angelo. Are you telling me that Lucious triggered Malcolm _on purpose?"_ Cookie demanded. It didn't make any sense.

"I don't think he was expecting this huge of a meltdown. But he definitely planned to make a fool out of Malcolm tonight."

"That...that can't be right." Cookie shook his head. "Lucious wouldn't do anything like that - that's not his style. He's helping Malcolm right now, Angelo. Why would he do that if he was trying to mess with Malcolm's head?"

" Who knows when we're talking about Lucious Lyon," Angelo said, exasperated and quite angry. "Hell, Cookie, maybe he even feels bad about it. Or maybe this whole thing was an act. But after everything Lucious has done to you - to _us_ \- I can't believe you're sticking up for him."

"I'm not sticking up for Lucious," Cookie argued. "But I'm telling you, Lucious isn't going to get in the way of somebody's livelihood. That's just not him, Angelo."

"Oh, you think so?" Angelo shot back. "Cookie, I used all of those fireworks as a kid at more 4th of July celebrations than I can count. You have to order those kinds of fireworks _specifically_. They all have names - Whistling Jake, Extreme Machine. Red Rhino, Big Thunder...one of them is called Gorilla Warfare, for crying out loud! Let me show you what I mean." Angelo took Cookie's hand. "They're all on the rack in the supply room."

Cookie tensed up and stopped walking. "I don't need to see the rack."

"Oh? Why not?" Angelo folded his arms. "Are you scared to come face-to-face with the truth, Cookie?" Cookie didn't answer. "Okay, fine. Don't look at the rack. But I'll tell you this. If Lucious tries to use tonight as a reason for firing Malcolm, you'll know I'm right."

"Lucious isn't going to fire Malcolm over this." Angelo was wrong, he was _so_ wrong. Lucious was upstairs right now helping Malcolm out. Hadn't he just helped Malcolm stay calm and given him the night off? "I'm tired, Angelo," Cookie told Angelo. "I think I'm going to turn in early tonight."

"What time should I pick you up for the swearing-in?" Angelo asked. He checked the look on Cookie's face. "Or should I even bother?"

Cookie took a breath. "Like I said. I'm tired." She crossed her arms. "I'll watch it on TV. Call me later." Cookie turned away and left Angelo in the dark of the forest.

 _He's wrong. He's wrong. I know he's wrong._ Cookie walked up to the backyard. The fireworks display was in a utility closet underneath the stairs. _If you need to turn them off for whatever reason, you throw the emergency switch. Or you unplug them completely._ Just a short walk down the stairs and into the closet to see for herself...

Cookie walked up the steps and into the mansion, determined to find Lucious so he could explain what just happened. As the guests cleared out of the mansions hours early for the second time in less than a month, Cookie found Lucious sitting with Jamal in his office, deep in conversation. "What's going on?" she asked dubiously. "What are you two talking about?"

"We were talking about Malcolm," Lucious answered. "Jamal was telling me about his virtual therapy. Do you think...do you think Malcolm would be offended if we went and talked to him about going to therapy? For his PTSD, I mean. So that something like this never happens to him again."

"I told Dad how expensive it was," Jamal added. "But Dad said he would pay for it all out of pocket."

"What do you think, Cookie?" Lucious asked. "Good idea or bad idea? I don't want to insult the man. But whatever Malcolm has been doing about his PTSD until tonight, it obviously ain't working."

"I think..." Cookie was taken away. _This_ was the Lucious she fell in love with. The generous, compassionate, understanding Lucious. He wasn't dead. The therapy, paying off the costs...it was perfect. "I think that's a great idea, Lucious. Only maybe Jamal should do the asking, not you."

"Okay, I will. Good night, guys." Jamal hugged Lucious, kissed Cookie and left.

Lucious spun his office chair around and stared into a freshly lit fire. "What happened out there...God, I feel terrible." Lucious shook his head slowly. "I never would've imagined, not in a million years. You get so used to seeing these guys like soldiers that you forget that they're human beings. Can you imagine what Malcolm saw during all those years at war?"

"You really helped Malcolm out there, Lucious," Cookie said. "I thought you didn't like the guy?"

"Oh, I like him fine," Lucious admitted. "I was just a little drunk, that's all. Dude was just doing his job, keeping my family safe. Gotta respect that. I never would've fired him, not for real. But these fireworks...damn, I still feel terrible about it. I'm just glad I remembered to tell Angelo to unplug the rack. I should've thought of that first thing, but I guess we had to find Malcolm first, huh?"

Lucious told Angelo to unplug the rack? Angelo made it sound like he'd come up with the idea on his own. It was Lucious who was the hero, not Angelo. Yet he sat back and let Angelo take all the credit...

Lucious was staring into the fire when Cookie walked around and stood right in front of him. "I thought you were going to spend the night with Horatio?"Lucious asked, his eyes wide while Cookie undid his tie, then his shirt.

Cookie looked Lucious dead in the eye and went to her knees, her hands smoothly unbuckling his belt. "I'm right where I'm supposed to be." Cookie's heart was light and filled with joy and love. Angelo was wrong, just like Cookie knew he was. She didn't need to look at a damn thing. Nobody knew Lucious Lyon better than Cookie Lyon.

* * *

Freshly showered and changed, Malcolm was already sitting at the kitchen table sipping hot tea when Anika came in with Bella on her hip. "I knew you were going to check up on me tonight," he greeted. "Figured I'd beat you to the punch." Malcolm raised his tea cup. "Juanita fixed me some tea. Hope you don't mind."

"Of course I don't mind, Malcolm. I got some snickerdoodles," Anika added with a wink. Hot drinks and dessert had become a regular thing between the two of them after hours of studying.

"Nah, I'm okay." Malcolm drained his cup and stood. "How's Bella? Are her ears okay?"

"They're fine. She's just fussy. Scared to death, but she's better now."

"Here. I'll take her." Malcolm reached out for Bella, who clung tightly to Malcolm. "Why don't you take a shower and change while I read Bella a story?"

"That sounds great. I'll be quick about it."

Malcolm nuzzled Bella, who kissed his cheek. "Take your time!" he encouraged. "I wanna hang out with my New Year baby."

"Thanks, Malcolm." Anika's quick shower became a long, hot bath. By the time she came back out to the sitting foyer, Malcolm and Bella were asleep on the couch. A copy of _Les Trois Petits Cochons_ (The Three Little Pigs) sat on the table beside the couch. Anika carefully took Bella out of Malcolm's arms and placed her in the crib, then went and got a blanket for Malcolm. "Good night, sweet prince," she whispered in his ear, then dared to kiss him on the forehead. Memories of their moonlight kiss flooded Anika's mind, and she hurried out of the foyer.

Malcolm wasn't on the couch when Bella awoke for her late night feeding. It wasn't even two o'clock, but Anika felt like the New Year's party was a distant memory. "Malcolm?" Anika called out, but there was no reply, and he was nowhere in the nursery when Anika looked around for him. _Oh, well. He probably went back to his wing for the rest of the night._ It made sense, but Anika was a little hurt. _He could've at least left me a note._

"Your uncle Malcolm is driving me crazy," Anika told Bella as she sat in her huge rocking chair to nurse her. Crazy as Malcolm was driving her, Anika's heart went out to Malcolm. He was easygoing that Anika could never imagine the depths of Malcolm's trauma. Writhing around on the ground, gasping and crying...

Anika's thought swung back to Lucious. _Lucious_. Who knew that he would step up tonight the way he did? It was hard to remember that there was still some compassion and love inside of that man. When he was a good guy like he was tonight, that was when Anika could remember when and why she loved him. Not enough to stay married to him, of course, but enough to remind Anika that there was a still a human being inside of Lucious "Lucifer" Lyon.

As Anika switched Bella from her left breast to her right one, something alerted her to another presence. Malcolm, who had gone back to his wing to get his dental guard, was standing in the doorway, just watching Anika as she nursed her baby. "You're so beautiful," he admired. "You are just so...beautiful." Malcolm's eyes grew wide because of what he'd just implied. "Not because of..." he added hurriedly, gesturing to his chest. "It's not-aw, man..."

"Malcolm. It's okay." It wasn't the first time Malcolm had been in the room while she was nursing Bella. By now, the entire Lyon household was familiar with Anika's breasts.

"I know. But-I mean, like I said. It's not because...you know. It's just...it's just...because." The look on Malcolm's face showed that he was just as confused by his statement as Anika was. He wandered back out of the crib room without another word.

For a while, Anika pondered Malcolm's words, his kiss still fresh on her mind. Before Anika knew it, she was standing over Malcolm the sitting foyer, wearing nothing but her silk robe. Malcolm was staring up into space, and he didn't move when Anika showed up. Was he asleep? Awake? Malcolm tended to sleep with his eyes open from time to time - a habit from his navy days, he explained. "Malcolm?" Anika called softly. No answer. _He's asleep,_ Anika thought, half-relieved and half-disappointed. Anika turned to leave, but Malcolm reached out and grasped her wrist. He was awake and alert, and his touch was gentle.

Still lying down, Malcolm guided Anika to him. Wordlessly, Anika slowly sat in his lap, her knees pinned to the sofa with her legs on both sides of him. Malcolm's hands rubbed Anika's thighs through her silk robe, then underneath it. Up and down, up and down, skin to skin until Anika couldn't take it anymore. Taking his hands into hers, Anika guided Malcolm to the knot holding Anika's belt together, which was at his eye level. He gently tugged at the knot, and the robe fell open, revealing Anika's nude body.

He could have her...if he wanted her.

And he wanted her. Malcolm wanted Anika more than he'd ever wanted another woman in his life. Malcolm sat up, and Anika wrapped her legs around his waist as he stood, using her feet to push Malcolm's boxers to his ankles. Malcolm kicked them off and walked Anika into her bedroom. Their kisses grew deeper, hotter, more and more passionate.

Malcolm laid Anika on the bed, then stood up to quickly remove his shirt. He was back on top of Anika, then inside of her in a heartbeat. Anika cried out at the sheer size of Malcolm - the length, the thickness, the throbbing, hot and smooth inside of Anika, warm and wet and willing. "Oh, God!" Anika gasped as Malcolm went in deeper, deeper, deeper. Her nails dug into his back, which Malcolm actually encouraged.

Malcolm sat up and positioned Anika on top of him. "Ride," he ordered her, his eyes bright with pleasure at Anika's pleasure. Now Anika was in control. Malcolm gripped Anika's hips tightly, half out of his mind, actually happy Anika to have the upper hand for now.

Anika had forgotten what it was like to be touched lovingly, to be caressed and cherished, to look a man in the eye while he was making love to her. "Malcolm..." Anika gripped the sheets, held her breath, and prayed to the New Year gods to keep herself under control, but it was pointless. "Come," Malcolm whispered in Anika's ear, switching positions with her and lying her on her back. His thrusts were slower, harder, and his intent was clear. "Come for me, Anika."

"Please..." Anika gasped. "Malcolm, oh God..."

Malcolm kissed Anika on her lips and her neck. "You gonna come for me, baby?"

"Yes! Yes! Oh-my-God! _Malcolm!"_ Malcolm sat up and pulled Anika into his arms, rocking her until Anika could finally speak again. "Please," she said again when Malcolm began to pull out of her, and he seemed to understand. Seconds later, hot juices warmed Anika's insides and Malcolm shuddered, rolling Anika over and lying on top of bare breasts as they both caught their breath.

When Malcolm began to shift and move, Anika tried not to panic. "Are you leaving?" she asked.

Malcolm, who slept on his back by habit, rolled over on his side, facing Anika. "Do you want me to?"

Relieved, Anika smiled and curled up in Malcolm's arms. "No." He tilted her chin and kissed her, long and deep, and they fell asleep together.

* * *

Nighttime situations become different in the morning.

Anika didn't feel guilty the night before, but lying in bed with her sheets smelling of aftershave and sex the following morning, it hit Anika that she had cheated on Lucious. She'd had an affair. Slept with another man. And with that, Anika had stooped as low as Lucious.

Now Anika stood at the doorway of the crib room, watching Malcolm interact so naturally with Bella that it made her heart hurt. Oh, why couldn't Malcolm be her child's father instead of Hakeem's silly ass?

 _Bella, won't you marry me?_  
 _Twelve months I have been at sea._  
 _Underneath the stars above_  
 _You and I will pledge our love_  
 _Bella, won't you marry me?_  
 _Twelve months I have been at sea..._

Malcolm saw Anika and gave a huge smile, just like Bella did. "Good morning, baby," he greeted, wrapping his arms around Anika's waist and kissing her on the cheek. He was wearing his boxer shorts and nothing else, looking like a chiseled chocolate god. "Sleep well?" Malcolm teased.

"Yeah...yeah." Something in Anika's face made Malcolm's smile fade. "Do you want me to fix you something to eat?" he asked, his eyebrows knitted with worry.

"I'm not hungry. I...I need to feed Bella." Anika took Bella away from Malcolm, not even able to look him in the eye.

Malcolm left, and he didn't return until he was dressed in the sweatpants he was wearing the night before. "Well. At least I know where we stand," he said matter-of-factly.

"Malcolm..." Anika began, laying Bella into her crib, but Malcolm cut her off. "No, it's okay. I get it. It was fun."

"Malcolm, wait." Anika stood and followed Malcolm back into her bedroom. "It's not like that. Not at all. It's just-"

"You don't have to explain yourself," Malcolm said bitterly. "You got what you wanted. Isn't that all that matters?"

Anika put her hands on her hips. "What the hell is _that_ supposed to mean?"

"Oh, come on, Anika!" Malcolm jerked his shirt on over his head. "You're mad at Lucious, so you sleep with me to get back at him and-"

"Wait a minute." Anika was flabbergasted. "You mean to tell me that you think this is about _Lucious!?_ This doesn't have anything to do with Lucious!"

"Uh-huh. Whatever." Malcolm walked out of Anika's bedroom and to the sitting foyer.

"Malcolm! Listen to me! _Please!"_ Malcolm sighed, exasperated, but he grew silent. "I-I want to be a good wife, Malcolm," Anika said tearfully. "Cheating on my husband...it's what Lucious expects me to do. It's what I've already _done,_ Malcolm.. And I can't do it again, I just can't."

"So this _is_ about Lucious," Malcolm observed. "Of all the people in the world who deserve your loyalty, _that's_ the motherfucker you're pledging it to?"

"I know he doesn't deserve it, Malcolm, but he's my husband. And I'm his wife. And I have to be able to look at myself in the mirror." Malcolm rolled his eyes as Anika went on. "I swear I wasn't trying to use you. And I'm not trying to get back at Lucious!" Anika jumped in front of Malcolm before he could leave. "Malcolm, you are a beau-"

 _"Stop!"_ Malcolm snapped. "Stop. If you tell me that I'm a beautiful man, I'm going to puke." Since that was exactly what Anika was going to say, she said nothing further. "So this is it," Malcolm said dully. "This is how it ends, huh?"

What Malcolm didn't say – what he didn't have to say – was that the closeness the two of them had shared ever since their spirited discussions about roses and foxes and sheep was dead. Their runs in the morning and sweet treats in the evenings, the laughter and jokes and what-are-you-listening-to texts and studying... _studying!_ "Wait, Malcolm! What about the GRE?" Anika reached out to Malcolm, who jerked away. "Don't throw away all our hard work because you're mad at me. It's just another month."

"If I'm not ready for it by now, I'm not ready," Malcolm answered. "I'll be fine. I don't need you anymore."

Those words stung like salt in a wound. "Malcolm..." Anika was holding back tears. "Malcolm, I'm so sorry. I never meant to hurt you, I swear."

Malcolm turned around and faced Anika. "Just stay away from me." And with that, he left.

Anika stood in the middle of the nursery, numb. She couldn't even feel the tears sliding down her cheeks. Malcolm had been out of her life for less than a minute. and Anika missed him already.

* * *

Cookie and Lucious were having a much better New Year's morning than Anika and Malcolm. Lucious woke Cookie up with his tongue between her legs, and Cookie was more than happy to return the favor. After a hot round of shower sex, Cookie lounged in Lucious's bed wearing nothing but a smile while Lucious had Juanita make a gourmet breakfast. "What a night, huh?" he said. "Just glad we made it through."

"No kidding." Angelo's inauguration was in two hours, but Cookie knew where she was going to be. Over a breakfast of steak and eggs, Cookie only half-listened to Lucious's recollection of the night's events and everything they had to work on in the future until Lucious mentioned something about the security detail. "You're still going to talk to Malcolm about going to Jamal's therapist, right?" Cookie asked.

"Yeah, absolutely. Not sure Malcolm's going to appreciate being replaced, but this is the least I can do."

 _Replaced?_ "What are you talking about, replaced?" Cookie asked slowly, and her heart began to pound.

"Just what I said. We can't keep Malcolm after last night, Cookie. Look," he said before Cookie could protest. "I know you like Malcolm. He's a good guy. Hard-working. And I know how fond you are of him," Lucious sneered. "But the point is that the guy had a job, and he failed. _Miserably_. He had a loaded gun - he could've snapped and killed everyone of us. You've seen how deadly he is with a gun in his hand."

Angelo's words echoed in Cookie's head. _If Lucious tries to use this as a reason for firing Malcolm, you'll know I'm right._ Lucious sighed. "I dunno, maybe we can hire him back once he gets his shit together, but-"

"You _bastard_." Cookie picked up her plate and hurled it at Lucious's head. "You son of a bitch!" The glass of orange juice was next. "I defended you, Lucious! _I stood up for you!"_

"What the hell are you talking about?" Lucious asked, hopping out of bed with scrambled eggs all over his lap. "Stop it! What the hell is wrong with you!?"

"You did it on purpose, didn't you?" Cookie demanded, jumping out of bed. "Didn't you!? You did it on purpose, Lucious!"

"Did what?"

"You let those fireworks go off, Lucious! You sent Malcolm out on that dumb ass patrol, and then you set the fireworks off. And you didn't forget about unplugging the rack before we went out there, either - _you just didn't do it."_

"I told you, Cookie, I had to stay with-"

"Oh, Lucious, _shut up!"_ Cookie grabbed her clothes and got dressed as fast as she could. "You didn't tell Angelo to do a damn thing! You lied to me, Lucious. Just like you always do! You wanted to make Malcolm look like a fool because he made you look like a fool - twice!"

"Are you serious?" Lucious grabbed for Cookie's hand, but she wrenched away. "Cookie, why would I want to punk out my head of security in front of everybody, huh? Why would I want to make my own security look weak?"

"Who the fuck knows why you do the things you do, Lucious?" Cookie shook her head. "Just tell me why, Lucious. Why would you do a thing like that? Because you're right, you know. About the gun and everything. Malcolm could've snapped and killed us all, but you would've had your little joke. Right?"

Lucious didn't answer. Cookie was right, of course. "I know one thing, Lucious," Cookie said as she got dressed. "Come Monday morning, Malcolm better be at his desk, same as always. And Jamal can talk to him about therapy. But you? You stay away from Malcolm, Lucious. I mean it. You've done enough."

Cookie slammed the door behind her, cursing herself for her stupidity. If she hurried, maybe she could make it to Angelo's inauguration after all. Maybe Cookie was where she wanted to be, but now was the time to go where she should have been all along: by Angelo's side.

* * *

That both Cookie and Lucious _and_ Malcolm and Anika managed to reconcile at all over the months said a lot more about the ambiance of the Lyon environment than the power of forgiveness. "You could always let her go," Cookie said as Lucious stared at Malcolm's truck speeding away. "This was what you wanted, right?" she pressed when Lucious didn't answer. "Anika and Malcolm?"

"Not like this," Lucious admitted sourly.

"Like what?" Cookie stepped forward, standing next to him, Bella on her hip. "Like Malcolm treating Anika with respect and not talking down to her every five minutes? Or because he's walking her out into the sunshine? Or because he puts a smile on her face?" Cookie remembered the excitement on Anika's face from Malcolm's passenger's seat. It was just a film festival five miles up the street, but Anika looked like she was being let out of an underground bunker. "You need to let Anika go, Lucious," Cookie urged. "This marriage isn't even a year old. I'm sure you can get it annulled, and it's not like Anika's going to ask anything out of you."

"Anika can go," Lucious went inside the house, and Cookie followed. "But Bella stays here."

"You can't hold Anika hostage like this," Cookie said as the two of them walked to the nursery together. "Your name is on Bella's birth certificate, so I'm sure you two can work out a custody agreement-"

"Bella stays here," Lucious repeated. "Anika can go home to her parents or home to Cayman or home to Hell, for all I give a damn. But my daughter stays with us, Cookie.

Cookie shook her head as she put Bella in her crib. What had they done? What had Cookie allowed him to do? "Lucious, look at me." Cookie took Lucious's face in her hands and spoke slowly. "Bella isn't our daughter. We can't go back in time. We wouldn't be raising Bella...we'd be kidnapping her. Oh, and there's one other small problem."

"What's that?" Lucious asked, putting his arms around Cookie's waist, resting his chin on her shoulder. He didn't want to think about the little girl they'd lost over 30 years ago.

"Malcolm." Cookie reached up and stroked Lucious's hair. "If you don't think Malcolm will fight for Anika just as fiercely as you'll fight for me, you haven't been paying any attention. You start this war-"

"And I'ma win it," Lucious said intensely. "I will put that black bastard into the ground if I need to."

Cookie sighed wearily. "Lucious, have you ever heard of a 'Pyrrhic victory'?"

"No, what's that?"

"It's when you win something, but you've lost so much that the battle was meaningless." She shot Lucious a long, meaningful look. "We have to start thinking about what's best for Bella, Lucious." On that note, Cookie left the room to call Angelo at last.

Lucious didn't want to admit that the battle over Bella was a fight that he could very well lose. Just like Malcolm quit his job in protest of Lucious firing Cookie, Malcolm was once again doing the opposite of what Lucious intended for him to do. Malcolm had gone from being a pawn in Lucious's game to becoming a very powerful piece in Anika's game, and Lucious wasn't quite sure of how to handle that. "So, Bella," Lucious asked to his now-sleeping granddaughter. "What's best for you, baby girl?" he asked, as if he truly didn't know.

(end chapter three, part 2 of 2)


	5. Cupid Doesn't Lie

_Beep beep!_

"Hey, Malcolm!" Jamal waved as Malcolm's truck drove past him. "Was that Anika with Malcolm?" he asked Cookie, jogging up the drive. He stopped and kissed her on the cheek.

Cookie nodded and kissed Jamal back. "What are you doing back?"

"Came to get some sheet music I left in Dad's music room." Mother and son walked into the mansion. "So they're finally going public, huh? Good for them."

"Yeah, good for them," Cookie said sarcastically. "I love the idea of Lucious Lyon's wife out in public with her boyfriend."

"It's no different than Dad being out in public with all his side chicks, don't you think?" Jamal asked.

Cookie ignored that question. After all, she _was_ one of the so-called side chicks whether she liked it or not. "Did you know Malcolm and Anika were sleeping together?" Cookie asked as the two of them made their way to Lucious's piano room.

"I knew Malcolm and Anika were dating," Jamal said neutrally. "Just like I knew you and Lucious were dating and didn't say anything to Angelo."

"Don't get smart with me, boy," Cookie snapped. "This is different. We're family, Jamal. Angelo isn't."

"Does Anika count as family?" Jamal asked tersely. "It gets tiring keeping up with everybody's affairs. That's why I don't pay attention to any of them."

 _Smart-mouthed little bastard._ "When did this whole thing start between them?" Cookie asked.

"Valentine's Day, like Malcolm said. No...I think it might've been a little sooner than that, 'cause Malcolm was working with me at WOKE by then."

Jamal never found out why Lucious's offer for virtual therapy never came to pass. Instead, Jamal invited Malcolm to come to the first PTSD WOKE meeting of the New Year. Malcolm went just to be polite at first, but then he went to another, then another. Malcolm had such a warm, easygoing personality that Angelo suggested Malcolm lead his own group meetings for combat veterans as a way to give back to the community.

"Just once," Malcolm told a smiling, triumphant Angelo. He'd pulled the frat brother card on Malcolm in order to get his way. "I'm not a psychiatrist, Mr. Mayor."

Even on short notice, the meeting was three times larger than anybody expected. Malcolm expected to tell about himself, answer a couple of questions about his time in the navy and listen to a few war stories. He wound up leading a meeting that was over two hours long – one that nearly got out of hand when it came to an end. A Thursday night meeting was hastily set up. By the end of January, walk-in meetings could no longer be accommodated, and a third Saturday afternoon meeting was added to Malcolm's schedule.

Malcolm was afraid that Jamal would be jealous, but Jamal was more than happy to turn the combat vets over to Malcolm. Andre came up with the idea of a weekend daycare and rec center so that more families could participate. "Where are we going to get the volunteers for all that?" Angelo asked, slightly overwhelmed with the sudden influx of new WOKE members and visitors.

"Try the high schools," Hakeem suggested. "I'm sure a lot of them need some volunteer hours to put on their college applications."

Magic words. Almost immediately, WOKE was filled to the brim with volunteers and therapy participants, thanks in part to their handsome, articulate, young(ish) military PTSD specialist. By mid-February, Malcolm had been invited to a conference for group therapy leaders specializing in military affairs. Though it would take Malcolm all to the way up to the day before Valentine's Day, Malcolm knew he couldn't say no to the invitation. For someone just indulging a side hobby and with no background in psychology, Malcolm DeVeaux had _arrived_.

Malcolm wouldn't be the only one traveling for the Valentine's Day holiday. "I heard Dad is taking you to the Bahamas for Valentine's Day," Hakeem said to Anika over lunch with Bella in the nursery. "Do you mind if I keep Bella over at my place while you're gone? Tiana's been wanting Bella to spend the night for the longest, and I'd like Bella's first Valentine's Day to be with her daddy."

Lucious had made no mention of a trip for Valentine's Day. "Sure you can," Anika agreed. I think it's a great idea." The idea of spending the weekend with Lucious anywhere, much less in another country, made Anika nauseous. Lucious apparently felt the same way. As Cookie informed Anika later that evening, his Valentine's Day island vacation was for Cookie, not for Anika.

"I wanted to come and talk to you about it..." Cookie said apologetically. She was embarrassed, and rightly so. Once again, Cookie came running when Lucious told her to.

"Talk to me about what, Cookie?" Anika kept her eyes on Bella as she changed her squirming baby's diaper. "You're going to the Bahamas with my husband for Valentine's Day." Anika's throat grew tight with anger. "Best Valentine's date he could give me. Have fun, Cookie."

"If it's any consolation, Lucious is giving you the guest house for Valentine's Day," Cookie informed Anika. "That, and a credit card with like, a $5 million limit to decorate it however you want to. He's even going to let you keep Bella with you from now on."

 _The guest house!_ For months, Anika had been fighting Lucious to let her move out of the mansion and into the guest house three miles down the road. For months, Lucious said no. He wouldn't even compromise on a day/night arrangement – Bella would stay in the mansion for most of the day, but stay with her mother at the guest house at night. Now here was Cookie saying Lucious was giving her the house and her child with no strings attached.

That only meant one thing. "You mean _you're_ giving me the guest house for Valentine's Day, Cookie," Anika corrected. "And all you had to do was suck Lucious's dick and go to the Bahamas with him. Then again, I guess you'll screw him either way, so I should get something out of it, huh?"

"You're pushing it, Boo Boo Kitty," Cookie muttered, but she said nothing more.

Lucious got the last laugh. He and Cookie swung by the nursery the morning of their departure to give Anika her credit card and say goodbye to their granddaughter. "You can decorate the house however you like. Keep everything in it, throw it all out, burn it...whatever. Just be sure you come up and see us sometime." He flashed Anika what was supposed to be a charming smile. "Got any plans for Valentine's Day?"

"Do you care?" Anika asked.

"No," Lucious said honestly, and Cookie slapped him on the thigh. "But that reminds me. Your boy Malcolm called me yesterday. I know we were expecting him back before me and Cookie left, but he decided to stay in D.C. for Valentine's Day after all. Big date."

"What?" Anika and Cookie said at the same time.

"Yeah." Lucious gave a sly grin. "Malcolm told me that he's taking his first love out to dinner. Said he asked her to marry him when they were younger, but their parents said no. Guess Malcolm's about to try again, now that they're all grown up, know what I'm sayin'?" Lucious winked. "So I wouldn't be expecting any Sesame Street and chill on V-Day, Anika."

"Lucious," Cookie warned.

"Hey, just thought I'd let her know. Actually, I'm pretty sure Anika knew, since her and Malcolm are such good...friends." He chuckled as he left, taking a sympathetic Cookie with him.

* * *

Malcolm and Anika hadn't spoken since the last time they had sex - not on New Year's Day, but a couple of weeks later. It started when Malcolm knocked on her door late at night after two weeks of not speaking to one another. "I passed the GRE," he told a startled Anika. "I couldn't have done it without you and Andre...I didn't know who else to tell."

"Malcolm, that's wonderful! Oh, I'm so proud of you." A firm, secure hug, the scent of freshly washed hair, skin touching skin. Malcolm and Anika didn't even make it past the sitting room that night. But nighttime situations are made different in the morning. Anika didn't say anything as she got out of bed to take her morning shower. When Anika came out of the bathroom, there was no trace of Malcolm. She didn't expect him to be there, but to leave the nursery without even saying goodbye was like a slap to the face.

White hot with rage, Anika left Bella with Juanita and sped down to Empire Enterprises, straight to Malcolm's office with no thoughts of discretion. "Get out," she ordered Jamal, who was going over some notes with Malcolm for the next WOKE meeting. _"Now."_

"What the hell are you doing, Anika?" Malcolm demanded as Jamal quickly rose and left the room, just as confused as Malcolm was. "You just interrupted an extremely important-"

"You know, it's bad enough you walked out of my bedroom this morning." Anika's eyes burned with tears as she crossed the room. "You hate me?Fine, Malcolm. But you could've at least stayed with Bella while I was taking a shower, especially since you don't visit her anymore."

"She's not my daughter, Anika," Malcolm reminded Anika. "Go tell your babydaddy-slash-stepson to watch her while you shower."

That was true, but it hurt Anika to hear it. "Bella misses you, but I know you don't care about that." Malcolm missed Bella, too, but he wasn't going to let on. "I guess you were just using my daughter to get to me, huh...or were you using me to get to my daughter?" she taunted him. "Seriously, what kind of weirdo hangs out with a married woman and a baby all day long?"

Anika had gone too far with her insults, and she knew it. Malcolm charged across the room so fast that Anika braced herself for a blow that never came. " _Don't_... _you_... _ever_ ," Malcolm ordered with fire in his eyes, "make that kind of insinuation about me again."

Despite the threat in his voice, Anika lifted her chin and stared Malcolm down with Lyon pride. "And _don't_... _you_... _ever_ leave my bedroom without saying goodbye again," Anika replied with clenched teeth. "I will not let you treat me like your whore."

"My whore?" Malcolm mocked. "I'd have to pay you to be a whore. You've giving it up for free, Mrs. Lyon."

Anika slapped Malcolm with all the anger in her body. Then Anika and Malcolm were screaming horrible things to each other and calling each other every name under the sun. Both of them wanted desperately to hurt the other person. Anika wanted to hurt Malcolm for abandoning her while Malcolm wanted to hurt Anika for using him.

 _"Take your hands off me!"_ Anika shrieked when Malcolm grabbed Anika by her wrist, muttering under his breath. But Malcolm didn't throw Anika out of his office. Instead, he half-dragged Anika into the bathroom, slamming the door behind him before lifting Anika up on the sink counter. Anika was already loosening Malcolm's tie by then, and he was pushing Anika's dress off her shoulders.

Malcolm grabbed the back of Anika's head and crushed his lips against hers so hard that their teeth bumped together. "My, my, my," Malcolm teased, pulling Anika's dress up past her naked hips. "Where are your panties, Mrs. Lyon?"

"Your daddy has 'em." Anika unbuckled Malcolm's pants and shamelessly reached into his underwear. The heat of Malcolm's cock in her hands made Anika spread her legs wider and lean back so her back pressed against the bathroom mirror. "I fucked him on Tuesday."

"You fuckin' my daddy?" Malcolm asked, sliding his middle and ring finger deep inside of Anika, manipulating her clit with his thumb at the same time.

"Your sister, too," Anika hissed, riding Malcolm's hand as she teased her nipples while Malcolm's eyes shone with approval.

"My sister, huh." Malcolm toed his shoes off and stepped out of his pants and his boxers as they continued to kiss wildly. Anika's teeth nipped Malcolm's lower lip, and Malcolm struggled not to put marks on Anika's fair skin. "Well," Malcolm said, pulling Anika off the counter and turning her body to where they both faced the mirror. Malcolm bent at the waist, rubbing his hard-on against the small of Anika's back until he was able to line his dick up right where he wanted it to go. "The next time you see that bitch..." he ordered as Anika instinctively braced her hands against the bathroom counter, "...give her _this_ _!_ _"_

Malcolm thrust himself inside of her with one smooth, hard stroke that made Anika scream. Then he did it again. And again. And again and again until Malcolm couldn't take it any more. He had to stop or else...

"Please." Anika's plea could barely be heard. But it was heard, and Malcolm obliged her once again, just as he always did. "Oh, my God," he muttered under his breath as his balls twitched and spasmed as he let loose deep of her. It was dangerous and it was irresponsible, but how could Malcolm say no when not only where Anika's lips were begging him to come inside of her, but her eyes in the mirror as well?

They dressed quietly when it was over, not even looking each other. With his tie still undone, Malcolm sat in his desk chair and turned his back to Anika when she walked to the front door. It was another slap in the face. "Malcolm," Anika said hoarsely. She'd been screaming so loud for so long that she'd lost her voice.

Malcolm didn't turn around. "What is it, Mrs. Lyon?"

Anika was so quiet for so long that Malcolm thought she'd left. He was startled when he turned around and saw her still standing at the door, hair tousled and skin glowing, but with eyes that were so sad. "I've always wondered. Sometimes you call me Anika and sometimes you call me Mrs. Lyon. Why?"

"Anika when I like you," Malcolm answered pointedly. "Mrs. Lyon when I don't."

They stared at each other for a while. Anika's eyes were so full of sadness - sadness that Malcolm had caused - that Malcolm dropped his gaze. "Lucious doesn't sound right on you," Anika said slowly. "I like you better when you act like yourself, Malcolm." With that, Anika left Malcolm alone with his thoughts. Anika spent the next two days faking a cold to hide her laryngitis, and the two of them hadn't spoken to each other since.

Secretly, Anika was hoping that Malcolm would come back around again by Valentine's Day. Now, with his big date on the horizon, it seemed that Malcolm had put Anika out of his mind at last. Anika couldn't say the same, but she was composed enough to wait until Lucious and Cookie left the nursery before she broke down and cried.

* * *

The first time Cookie went on Lucious's yacht, she refused to go out on the deck of the _Lyons' Den._ Terrified of open water and seasick on top of it, Cookie stayed inside sipping champagne and shooting daggers at Lucious's cute little girlfriend, a young A &R named Anika Calhoun. Two years later, Lucious watched with pride as Cookie worked the ropes of the _Den_ with ease, though she still wouldn't swim in open water - or any water, for that matter.

"C'mere, Cook." Lucious held up a champagne flute filled to the brim with Cookie's favorite snack. There were eight pounds of grapes in the freezer, which Lucious hoped would last the trip. It wasn't out of the ordinary for Cookie to go through a pound of grapes a day. "It's time we go over the rules."

"The rules?" Cookie asked dubiously. She brushed past Lucious and went straight inside the yacht to the gigantic freezer. "Cookie!" Lucious groaned as Cookie pulled out a pound-bag of grapes. "If you keep opening that freezer, they'll never freeze." Lucious handed Cookie the glass. "Here, these are already frozen."

Cookie snatched the glass, tilted her head and dumped a mouthful of grapes into her mouth. Lucious laughed as Cookie began to make faces, trying to blow warm air into her stuffed freezing cold cheeks. "I see your mouth can still stretch open nice and wide," he taunted. "I'll have to remember that later on."

" _Yuh uh,"_ Cookie ordered from behind the freezing fruit. She moved the grapes from one side of her mouth to the other, still trying to warm her mouth.

 _"Yuh uh'?"_ Lucious laughed and laughed watching Cookie chew and swallow, chew and swallow, _hooooo_...chew and swallow, chew and swallow, shift, _hooooo_ _..._ shift, chew, swallow _._ Finally, Cookie was able to speak. "I said _shut up_." She reached back into the freezer for some half-frozen grapes, and Lucious shook his head at her impatience. "And what rules are you talking about?"

"The rules for being on my yacht. The _Den_ rules."

"You mean _our_ yacht? I didn't do 17 years in prison for you to talk about _your_ yacht."

"Fine, _our_ yacht." Lucious pulled Cookie close to him. Cookie draped her arms around his shoulders. "The following phrases are not allowed to be used on my boat. Number one: _'17 years.'_ Number two. _'Fo' hunnit thousand._ '"

"I don't talk like that!" Cookie protested.

"However you talk. I don't wanna hear it. Three, _'Boo Boo Kitty.'_ "

"Defending your precious wife?" Cookie teased.

"No. But nobody told you to come out here with me, Cookie. You did that on your own." Lucious gently patted Cookie's ass for emphasis. "So I don't wanna hear about my marriage, or your pending marriage, or anything that has to do with that punk Julio-"

"Angelo," Cookie corrected by habit.

"Him, neither. You chose to come out here, so you're not gonna come out here and shit on the choices I've made. You can do that on dry land. You got it?"

"I gotchu, Daddy," Cookie cooed, sounding so much like she used to when they were just teenaged newlyweds.

"That's better." Cookie followed Lucious out to the deck, where he took over the ropes. He laughed as Cookie came out of the cabin with a cheesy blue yacht captain's hat and plonked it on his head. "Get it off, get it off!" Lucious laughed. "I can't see anything, Cookie."

"Fine, fine." Cookie took the hat off Lucious's head and tossed it into the water. She went back inside for more half-frozen fruit, then came back out on the deck just in time to see Lucious go over the boat's railing right into the ocean. "Lucious!" Cookie rushed to the rail. There was no sign of Lucious. Nothing but blue.

 _"_ _Lucious!"_ Cookie grabbed the lifesaver and threw it overboard, praying that Lucious would see it from underwater, but there was no sign of him. "Lucious! Please! Oh, my God... _Lucious!"_

Lucious bobbed up on the other side of the yacht and waved. "Can you believe it, Cookie?" he yelled, swimming back to the starboard side of the _Den_. "From a two-pack a day smoker to a world class swimmer! Look! I can float, too." Lucious leaned back and casually floated on his back. "Not bad for a Pufnstuf, huh?"

"You _idiot!"_ Cookie grabbed every object she could get her hands on and threw it at Lucious, who was coming up the ladder. "I thought you drowned, you stupid son of a bitch! What the fuck were you thinking!?" Lucious tried to calm Cookie down, which made her more and more hysterical. "You _know_ I can't swim, Lucious! What the hell would I do if you were drowning!?"

"Hey...hey. Cookie, it's okay." Kisses, kisses, kisses all over Cookie's face and lips and neck. "I'm sorry, Cook. I'm alright. You see?" Lucious caressed Cookie's face, tilting her chin so he could look her in the eye. "See me, Cookie? I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."

Cookie couldn't stop crying, not even while being comforted in Lucious's arms. "You scared the shit out of me, Lucious! I thought you fell overboard!" Cookie slapped Lucious's hand away. "And you lost your ring!" she cried, furious all over again.

"Huh?" Lucious stuck his hand out. "Oh, fuck!" For what would have been their 30th wedding anniversary, Lucious bought wedding rings for himself and for Cookie. A friendly gesture, Lucious insisted, but neither he nor Cookie believed it. "It's been feeling loose since I started losing weight and I always meant to get it resized. I guess it came off when-Cookie!" Lucious took both of Cookie's hands. "Throw your ring in the sea."

 _"What?"_ Lucious was asking Cookie to throw $52,000 worth of platinum and diamonds into the Caribbean Sea just because he lost his own ring. "Why, Lucious? I love my ring!"

"So that our rings will be together forever. _Please_ , Cookie," Lucious begged. "Throw your ring in the sea."

In a trance, Cookie looked down at the ring she loved so much. Without a word, she took it off her finger and tossed it into the ocean. The loss of her beloved ring made Cookie cry all over again. "Shh. It's okay." Lucious pulled a still-crying Cookie back into his arms. "Don't worry," he soothed, running his hands up and down her back. "We'll get new rings."

"I don't want new rings, Lucious. I want you." Tears poured down Cookie's face. "She doesn't love you," Cookie murmured in his ear. "She can't have you. Do you think she'd really cry for you if you drowned out there? Do you think she'll hurt like I would hurt?" Kisses, kisses, kisses all over Lucious's face and neck. "Don't you ever leave me like that again, you son of a bitch. I swear to God I'll kill you if you leave me again."

"What about Julio?" Lucious asked, trying to be somewhat honorable but growing weak-kneed at Cookie's touch and taste.

"I don't want to talk about Julio," Cookie growled in Lucious's ear. She grabbed Lucious by the hair and yanked his head to where they were eye to eye. "I don't want Julio. I don't love Julio. I love _you_." Cookie grabbed Lucious's swim trunks and dropped to the deck floor, taking his swim trunks with her, then came up on her knees. "And I am going to suck your soul out of your body through your balls, Lucious Lyon." Cookie shed her bikini top and looked up at Lucious. "Because you love me and you gave me three sons and because I...love... _you_."

"Oh, God..." Lucious ran his hands through Cookie's hair, biting his lower lip and mumbling curses until he couldn't take it anymore. Bringing Cookie to her feet, Lucious pushed Cookie forward until Cookie was facing the ocean, her hands gripping the rail tightly as she braced herself for the waves of pleasure that she'd been wanting since the second she first stepped foot on the yacht.

There was something so basic about it all, almost primal. The sun on their skin, the wind drying the sweat on their bodies, the soft _pop-pop-pop_ of skin against skin, the sounds of enjoyment - too intense for words, just sounds - the bouncing of breasts and soft nipping of lips, collarbones, nipples and earlobes added to the delicious thrill of having sex on the yacht that their hard work had brought them. Lucious tried not to make any marks on Cookie's skin, but Cookie had no such boundaries.

As they changed positions and moved to the deck chairs and the sun began to set, Lucious's back was decorated with bright, red scratches and tiny droplets of blood. "Please," Cookie moaned in his ear when Lucious began to stroke slower and slower, teasing her clit with the head of his cock. She was close, so damned close. "Please, Lucious..."

"Say it," Lucious growled in Cookie's ear, though he was barely holding on himself. "Tell me what you want me to do." He already knew, but he just wanted to hear her say it.

"Oh, _God!._..come inside me, Lucious." Cookie rode Lucious's lap harder, her head thrown back and eyes closed tight with delight. "Please...please come inside me-oh, oh...yes!" Cookie tilted her head back, her face to the stars. "Yes! Oh, my God, _Lucious!"_

Under the moonlight, Lucious and Cookie kissed and cuddled, their love renewed under nature's sky. "Why'd you ask me to do that?" Lucious asked, half asleep from their lovemaking.

"Ask you to do what?" Cookie said coyly.

Lucious stretched his body out. "Asked me to come inside of you."

"I...I don't know." Cookie nuzzled her face against Lucious's neck. "I guess I just wanted it to feel like old times."

"Last time we were together," Lucious reminded her, "you told me to use a condom. Now you got me hittin' it raw?" They laughed. "Well, I'm not going to protest about it. Maybe my nut is magic and can make everything like old times again."

"I hope you're right," Cookie cracked up.

Lucious kissed Cookie's temple. "I hope you're pregnant," he said softly in her ear.

 _Pregnant!?_ Cookie almost fainted, though she was lying down.Pregnant! She would be 47 when their child was born. 31, 27, 21 and a newborn. Cookie had already made it plain to Angelo that she had no intentions of having some miracle child or a surrogate mother for Angelo's sake. She'd given birth to three children and had no desire to do it all over again, especially not at her age.

But under God's sky, Lucious's wish almost seemed plausible. They weren't young, but they weren't old, either. Hell, hadn't Lucious swum the length of the _Den_ twice? And Cookie was in the best shape she'd ever been in. "Maybe," Cookie finally said, barely believing what she was saying.

"Well, then." Lucious tapped Cookie's bare ass, alerting her to stand. Cookie stood up and they both walked naked back into the wine cellar at the bottom of the _Den_. "Let's toast to maybe," Lucious suggested, pouring two glasses of Chateau Margaux. "How about it?"

The last time the two of them had toasted to maybe, Lucious wound up marrying Anika. But maybe this time...maybe this time it would all be different. "To maybe," she said slowly. Then Cookie took the bottle of wine and poured over her naked body, adding to the wetness that was already between her thighs.

* * *

"Do you trust me?" Lucious asked the next morning after feeding Cookie a delicious meal prepared by the ship's cook. She needed the nourishment after their vigorous exercise that morning in bed with Lucious. They laid out on the deck of the _Den_ , naked and sated and not having a care in the world.

 _17 years in jail...fo' hunnit thousand dollars...Boo Boo Kitty and Angelo_... "Yes." It made her a fool, she knew, but Cookie didn't care, not out here, not in the beauty of nature.

"Good." Lucious reached underneath his deck chair and produced a life jacket. "Put it on and come with me."

Cookie's heart jumped into her throat when Lucious skillfully dove headfirst into the ocean, even while knowing that Lucious was a strong swimmer. She was relieved when Lucious bobbed up a good 20 feet away from the boat. Who could imagine that the boy from south Philly would be swimming beside his own yacht? _We both made it_ , Cookie told herself.

"Come on, Cookie," Lucious coaxed. "Jump in. The life vest will keep you afloat."

"Hell, naw! All kinds of sharks and dolphins n'shit up in that water. Probably more fish pee than anything."

Lucious floated on his back, as fearless as always. "C'mon, Cookie. Get in the water with me. Come down that ladder there." He swam over to the ladder and gestured towards Cookie. "Daddy got you, babe."

Gingerly, Cookie lowered her body into the sea wearing nothing except the lifeguard vest. It was exhilarating to be able to move and float around while being perfectly still. Cookie kicked her legs, giggling at the feeling of the sea between her legs. After assuring herself that she was going to stay above water, Cookie carefully floated into Lucious's waiting arms. "I got you," Lucious assured Cookie, emphasizing his words with kiss after kiss. "I always got you, Cookie."

All through that Valentine's Day holiday, Lucious and Cookie returned to the water, even after landing in the Bahamas. By the time the two of them set sail for the U.S. again, Cookie could even manage a doggie paddle and float on her back for a short time. Away from Angelo and Anika, Lucious and Cookie's love was as strong and as large as the sea that enveloped their anniversary rings. There was no maybe out here. In the _Lyons' Den_ , the answer was always, always yes.

* * *

When Arielle begged Anika to help volunteer at her daughter Kanessa's Valentine's Day party, Anika drove up to Albany to pass out candy, cupcakes and juice to over 80 pre-kindergartners. Anika was surprised to find herself almost nervous, even anxious, in the face of dozens of three and four-year-olds. Being locked up for so long with very little company had rendered Anika agoraphobic, even in the face of sugar-filled children.

But Arielle was there, and so was her darling Kanessa. Anika also had help from the principal of Kanessa's school. The familiar face of Delilah Washington - twin sister of Angelo's mother, Diana Washington Dubois - made things a lot easier for Anika. Now nine months old, Bella was old enough to enjoy her very first cupcake and a sippy cup of juice. Everyone loved little Bella and little Bella loved everybody, though she side eyed Ms. Washington from time to her new residence in the guest home, Anika bathed and played with Bella until she was good and sleepy. "How could you get so sticky with just a little juice and cake?" she teased. Anika also had a scare when Bella's diaper was filled with bright red poop before she remembered the food coloring in the red velvet cake. Bella laughed and splashed around as if her potential rectal bleeding death was the funniest thing in the world.

Hakeem came by to give Anika her Valentine's Day gift and to pick up Bella. Even though Anika wasn't out of town, he still wanted to spend Valentine's Day with his daughter. "I just want you to know how much I care about you, Anika," he told her, presenting Anika with a beautiful hardback set of James Baldwin books. "You gave me my daughter, and no matter what, I'll always have love for you for that."

"Thank you, Hakeem. I can't wait to dig into these tonight." Books and sleep - what more could a new mother want for a gift?

An hour later, Anika's doorbell rang again. "What does this boy want?" Anika muttered, fresh from a long, hot bath and deep into _Giovanni's Room_. But it was Malcolm, not Hakeem, who stood on the other side of the door. "Malcolm!" Anika greeted excitedly, then tried to temper her voice. "I thought you were in D.C. for a conference?"

"I was. Conference is over." Malcolm looked so handsome in his suit and tie – not much different than he looked every day, but there was something different about that night that made Malcolm look sexier than ever. "Lucious told me that you moved down here...mind if I come in and take a look around? I did the security system here ages ago, but I just want to take a quick look around."

Anika stepped back to let Malcolm in before she remembered why she was pissed off with him in the first place. She stayed in the living room with her book as Malcolm went from door to door. "Here's a Valentine's Day-slash-housewarming gift," Malcolm said when he returned, thrusting a small package in Anika's hands and looking everywhere but at her face.

Anika wasn't expecting a visit from Malcolm, much less a gift. When she saw what was inside, Anika remembered why she was so taken with Malcolm for a friend. Malcolm knew how hard Anika had been looking for a rose in a glass case, much like the one described in The Little Prince. The best she'd been able to find were all related to Beauty and the Beast, with its _until-the-last-petal-falls_ motif. Malcolm's rose was exactly the kind of rose Anika had been looking for. It wasn't one of those cheap polyester roses with a hard, plastic case. If Anika didn't know better, she would have sworn the rose and the grass were real. "Malcolm, it's _beautiful."_ "Thanks," Malcolm answered. "I thought it would make a nice housewarming gift for Bella's new nursery."

"For Bella's new..." Anika couldn't have felt dumber. The gift was for _Bella_ , not for Anika. Malcolm followed Anika into the nursery, where she placed the glass-cased rose by Bella's crib. "How was your date?" she said sarcastically, keeping her eyes on Malcolm's gift.

"Date?"

"Don't give me that look, Malcolm. Lucious told me that you weren't coming home until the weekend because of your little Valentine's Day date."

Anika turned to look at Malcolm, who looked genuinely confused. "And what did Lucious Lyon, the beacon of truth and accuracy, have to say about my so-called date?"

Anika felt like Malcolm was making fun of her, but she pushed on anyway. "Lucious told me that you were going to marry her, but your parents said you were too young. He said..." Anika swallowed back her tears and tried to keep her voice from trembling. "He said that she's...she's your first love."

"Wow. For once, Lucious told the truth. That must've hurt his mouth." Malcolm leaned up against the wall while Anika's eyes nearly cut Malcolm in half. "We were lying next to each other on a blanket after a picnic when I asked her to marry me. She said yes, but our parents said we were too young to get married." Malcolm chuckled. "If someone had told us that no one would wed an eight-year-old and a five-year-old, I could've saved myself a lot of heartache."

"Cute story," Anika said flatly. "So what's the deal now?" Anika turned her back to Malcolm and began talking to the glass-encased rose again. "Are the two of you in love again? Is that what you came down here to tell me - that you still want to marry this girl, your first love?"

"Oh, she'll always be my first love," Malcolm mused. He pulled out his cell phone, flipped through the pictures, and smiled at the one he was looking for. "But since our fathers are still brothers, I doubt if anything will come out of it."

"Your fathers are...brothers?" Anika whirled around and found Malcolm struggling not to laugh. _"You punk ass!"_ Anika shoved Malcolm with all her strength when she finally got the joke. Snatching the phone from Malcolm's hands, Anika's guess was confirmed. "You went out with Olivia Pope!""My cousin says hello," Malcolm's smile was so beautiful that Anika had to forgive him on the spot. "I told Lucious that I was going out with my cousin...can't imagine why he left that part out. Can you?"

Anika shook her head and laughed. Her heart was so filled with joy. "Nope. Can't imagine why."

"What a bas...whatever. Anyway, I left Pope and Associates on some pretty foul terms, so I had the perfect chance to take Olivia out to brunch and tell her how sorry I was. Liv helped me do some Valentine's Day shopping for the special ladies in my life."Malcolm pulled a small Tiffany blue box, the kind that held jewelry, and opened it. _"_ _Pour toi (for you)."_ His eyes were warm and a little anxious.

"Oh, my _God_." Inside the box was a rose on a rose gold chain with a brilliant diamond in the middle. Lucious kept Anika's hands heavy with beautiful jewelry, but it was all so large and ostentatious, not Anika's taste at all at all. Malcolm's necklace was perfect - large enough to warrant a second look if noticed, but not large enough to draw attention from across the 's excitement faded when Anika didn't say anything else, even though her mouth was wide open. "Do you like it?" he asked anxiously. "I wanted to buy a matching bracelet, but Olivia said that would be overdoing it."

"It's beautiful," Anika whispered through her tears. "Put it on me, Malcolm, please." Everything about Malcolm that Anika been trying to forget came flooding back as Malcolm stood behind Anika - his scent, his smile, his gentle touch as his hands brushed against her skin. The cool metal against her bare skin made Anika flush with excitement. "Thank you, Malcolm," she said. "I...I don't even know what to say."

Beaming (not to mention relieved), Malcolm wrapped his arms around Anika and kissed the side of her neck. "Where can I make love to you?" he asked.

"What?" Anika was trying to sound casual, but she was sure that Malcolm could hear her heart pounding from behind her.

Malcolm turned Anika around and smiled, gently pushing her robe off her body until it pooled around her bare feet. "Where...can I...make love to you?" he asked again.

In a home with over 4,000 square feet, the answer was damn near _anywhere_.

* * *

Nighttime situations become different in the morning.

Malcolm nearly said good morning when Anika got out of bed and reached for her robe. He stopped himself in time, feigning sleep instead. If Anika wanted Malcolm to be little more than her cut buddy, so be it. He'd be damned if he simped himself out again. The necklace was bad enough. Malcolm would be damned if he was going to beg this woman to be with him. After a while, the rummaging around the bathroom made Malcolm more and more irritated. What the hell was Anika doing in there, anyway? Was this her way of telling him to get lost?

Just when Malcolm was about to get out of bed, Anika came out of the bathroom wearing nothing but her rose necklace. She climbed back into bed, wrapped her arms around Malcolm's waist, and gave a contented sigh. Elated, Malcolm turned over to face Anika, no longer caring if she saw him awake or not. Anika smiled up at him, placed a kiss on the tip of his nose, then snuggled up in his arms. "When you're ready to get up," Anika said sleepily, "let me know so I can fix you some breakfast, okay?"

"Mmm." Malcolm sat up, climbed on top of Anika and made his way down her naked body. "I already know what I want to eat for breakfast," he announced, making a trail of kisses down to where he wanted his mouth to be. _I won,_ Malcolm thought as Anika writhed with pleasure. _I won!_

* * *

With Anika out with Malcolm, Hakeem upstairs with his daughter and Jamal off to do some work in his office with Lucious, Cookie no longer had a reason to avoid Angelo's calls. Taking a deep breath, Cookie dialed Angelo's number. Angelo's voice was so cool on the other end of the phone that Cookie knew that her relationship with the mayor was finished. "I'm sorry I missed your calls all week," she apologized lamely.

"How was your _business trip_?" Angelo asked pointedly, knowing full well that Cookie was hardly doing any business while she was gone.

"Angelo." He knew. And the worst part was that Cookie didn't even care that he knew. She didn't care how he found out.

"Forget it, Cookie," Angelo interrupted. "Look, let's just cut this off before I say something I regret."

"I'm sorry. Please, Angelo..." Cookie pleaded. "I don't want it to end like this."

"Then how to do you want it to end?"

"As...as friends?" Cookie asked meekly. It sounded ridiculous the minute it came out of her mouth, and Angelo let her know it. "Look, Angelo," Cookie tried to explain. "It's not you. Please, you have to understand that. What me and Lucious have...it's complicated. I couldn't explain this to you if I tried, but if you'd just let me-"

"Lucious?" Angelo cut Cookie off. "What does Lucious have to do with anything?"

"I meant to call you when we were on vacation," Cookie began. "It's just that I got so caught up on my work...these trips are business trips, Angelo. It just...it just happened."

The silence on the end of the line was so loud that Cookie found herself wishing that Angelo would just cuss her out or hang up the phone of something. Just when Cookie was convinced that Angelo had hung up on her, he spoke. _"You...went on vacation...with Lucious?"_

 _Oh, fuck._ Cookie said nothing as Angelo let loose a stream of curse words, calling her every name in the book. She deserved it. Everything Angelo was saying about Cookie was true. Her heart was pounding wildly and only one thought raced through Cookie's mind: she was never going to be the First Lady of New York City.

 _Thank God. Thank God._

Cookie didn't want to be First Lady of New York City. She never wanted to be the First Lady of New York City. Hell, Cookie Lyon was barely a lady, _period_. Cookie Lyon was a woman who lost her virginity in a hotel-slash-crack den when she was just 15; who, with the help of extremely shady people and cocaine, was legally married at just 16; who slung drugs and did time and had no formal education and liked it hot and hard and up against the wall or bent over a chair with her face and back dripping in warmth. Had Angelo merely remained a councilman, perhaps Cookie could have been happy with Angelo. But First Lady? Could one be First Lady and enjoy backshots?

The unasked question made Cookie laugh out loud. There was going to be an announcement over the news, of course. Hell, now that Angelo knew what was up with her and Lucious, they could get rid of Malcolm. Who cared if the pictures dropped now?

But no...no. For starters, if Malcolm was fired from Empire – or if he quit again – Empire's security would be in shambles. Nearly all of Malcolm's security team quit Empire with days of Malcolm's departure, and nearly all of them came back when he did. Since then, the worst security breach that had happened was the occasional spam email.

Second, to his credit, Malcolm lived and breathed Empire, just like everybody else. He may have been a war veteran with severe PTSD. He may have slept with both of Lucious's wives behind his back. But as far as Cookie was concerned, if Anika wanted Malcolm – God knew Cookie wouldn't inflict Malcolm's soft ass on anybody _but_ Anika – let him have her. Cookie was free. And Anika was...pulling up into the driveway in Malcolm's truck.

"The hell?" Cookie asked aloud. She'd only been gone about 10 minutes, if that long. "What's going on?" Cookie asked Hakeem, who was coming down the stairs with her daughter strapped into her carrier, which doubled as a car seat.

Hakeem, his face stormy, didn't answer his mother. He answered the door before the bell even rang. As Anika, red-eyed and staring at the ground, spoke quietly to Hakeem, Cookie looked out the window in disbelief. There was Malcolm, exiting the truck and storming down the driveway, looking like he would strangle the next person who dared to speak to him. What in the world could have happened to make Anika come back, when she was so excited just a little while ago?

Cookie walked out the front door and past the driveway, where Hakeem and Anika were having a conversation as they were securing Bella in Malcolm's truck. Malcolm had walked halfway down the drive, far away from them both when Cookie managed to catch up to him. "Malcolm!" Cookie dared to ask. "What's going on? What happened?"

"What happened?" Malcolm spun around and glared at Cookie with genuine rage in his eyes. " _What happened?_ I'll tell you what happened. Lucious happened! That's what!"

"What do you mean?" Cookie asked. "What, did he call her while you were driving? Text her or something?"

"He doesn't have to, Cookie. Don't you get it? _He's in her head."_ Malcolm folded his arms tightly and looked towards the mansion. "I mean, one minute we were laughing and joking. Then she was just smiling a little. Then she got really quiet. By the time we hit the freeway, Anika was crying. What else could I do other than bring her home?" Malcolm sighed heavily. "Lucious doesn't have to say anything, Cookie. He doesn't have to do anything. She's always going to be his - just like you, Cookie!"

Cookie ignored Malcolm's stinging barb. "Let me talk to her, Malcolm. Please, just let me talk to her, okay?"

"You can have her, for all I care," Malcolm muttered. "Take her to Lucious. You two can fight over him together. Grab some whipped cream and Jell-O and you can make some money off it."

"Hey! Give it a rest, Malcolm." Anika was sitting in the passenger's seat, staring out the window. Making her way back up the drive, Cookie tapped the glass and gestured for Anika to get out of the truck. She wanted a private moment with the younger woman, away from Hakeem and Malcolm.

Anika got out of the truck with tears streaming down her face. She looked like a teenager who had just come home after sneaking out of the house. "It's alright, Anika," Cookie said tenderly, drawing Anika into a much-needed hug. She knew what it was like to be in Lucious's iron-tight grip. "It's alright, baby girl. You got your foot out the door," Cookie reminded Anika. "You should be proud of that."

"I'm not scared of Lucious, Cookie." Anika ran her hands through her hair. "I don't care about what he does to me anymore. And I know that he'll never hurt Bella."

"He won't hurt you, either," Cookie assured Anika. "Lucious is all mouth. He would never try to hurt you, Anika. He just wants you to think that he will."

"Oh, yeah? What about Malcolm? Cookie, if Lucious does something to Malcolm because of me..." Anika broke down crying again, and Cookie felt goose bumps running up her arms. Hadn't she had the very same thoughts upon coming back from the Berkshires? _"Don't hurt him, Lucious. He's gone now. Leave Malcolm alone, Lucious...please?"_

 _"That's up to you, Cookie. It's all up to you."_

Malcolm, who had been talking with Hakeem at the bottom of the driveway, came back up to his truck. "Let's go, Anika." Cookie stepped back and let Malcolm help Anika into the passenger's seat. With the door closed, Malcolm turned to Cookie. "Pool house. 20 minutes," he ordered in a soft, low voice. "We _have_ to talk."Before Cookie could say another word, Malcolm got back into his truck and drove away, Anika and Bella in tow.

* * *

 _Note:_ _Sacrifice_ _was written back during season one, where there was a running joke in our fandom that Malcolm left New York for D.C. to work for Olivia Pope. When I found a rash of pictures of the two of them together, I made them cousins._


End file.
